{{Democratic Republic of Congo will start talks next week aimed at easing a political standoff in the capital and ending remote rebellions, with the leader of neighbouring Congo Republic taking some form of mediating role.}}
DRC’s last major war ended a decade ago, but localised rebellions, as well as rampant corruption, have hamstrung efforts to rebuild the vast former Belgian colony, a target for billions of dollars of foreign investment.
As well as the “M23” rebellion near the border with Rwanda in the east, and one in the in the Katangan copper belt in the south, political tensions have simmered in the capital Kinshasa, in the west, since President Joseph Kabila’s 2011 re-election in a vote the opposition says was riddled by fraud.
Now, the political opposition will take part in talks with the government, rebel groups and civil society, after Congo Republic’s president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, agreed to “accompany” the process, although his role and the scope of the discussions are yet to be clarified.
“We came to meet the president to tell him that we will start our dialogue next week,” Kengo Wa Dondo, president of DRC’s senate, told reporters late on Thursday after meeting Nguesso in Congo Republic’s capital, Brazzaville.
A spokesman for the president confirmed he had accepted the role, the exact nature of which will be clarified in further meetings in Kinshasa.
“He is available 24 hours a day. What more can you say?” Wa Dondo said.
The two nation’s capitals are separated only by the Congo River but Nguesso’s involvement comes after years of strained relations with Kabila.
Problems stemmed mainly from accusations by Kinshasa that Brazzaville was harbouring alleged coup plotters accused of trying to topple Kabila’s government.
A visit by Kabila to his counterpart last month to discuss regional politics, including the M23 rebellion, appears to have laid the foundations for Nguesso’s involvement.
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