Direct peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels will begin in the Angolan capital on 18 March, Angola's presidency said in a statement on Wednesday. The Congolese

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government and the M23 rebel group will hold direct peace talks in Luanda, Angola’s capital, on March 18, the Angolan government announced late Wednesday. Angola’s Presidency confirmed the talks in a Facebook statement.

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.