The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 rebel group are to hold direct peace talks on 18 March, Angola said Wednesday. A statement from Angolan President João Lourenço’s office said they would begin “peace negotiations” in the Angolan capital,

Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the African Union’s peace mediator for the conflict in Congo, is pushing for direct talks between Kinshasa and M23 rebel group - Anadolu Ajansı

Angola has acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo, which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. In February, M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second biggest city.