M23 rebel group says no invitation received to Doha peace talks with Congo

8/8/2025 6:21

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has not received an invitation to peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo scheduled to begin in Doha on Friday, its leader Bertrand Bisimwa told reporters on Thursday.



A delay to the start of the talks risks scuppering an ambitious pledge by the two sides to end the fighting in eastern Congo that has killed thousands of people this year and displaced hundreds of thousands more.



M23 rebels seized eastern Congo's largest city Goma in late January as part of a rapid advance that has given them control of more territory than ever before.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has mediated talks between Congo and Rwanda that Washington hopes will produce a sustainable peace and attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.