By Giulia Paravicini
GOMA (Reuters) – The leader of the rebel alliance that has seized swathes of east Congo told Reuters on Thursday that the group was not bound by a ceasefire call issued during a surprise meeting in Qatar between the presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met in Doha on Tuesday for the first time since the latest M23 advance that has seen the rebels seize more territory than ever before.
The sit-down came one day after M23 pulled out of direct talks with Tshisekedi’s government that were expected to take place in Angola.
“We will fight until our cause is heard,” Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance (AFC) that includes M23, told Reuters on Thursday when asked about the group’s plans.
“In the meantime, what happened in Doha, as long as we don’t know the details, and as long as it doesn’t solve our problems, we’ll say it doesn’t concern us.”
Nangaa also dismissed the possibility of a proposed minerals-for-security deal with the United States.
The State Department said this month it was open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, though Kinshasa has not publicly detailed its proposal.
“The Congolese people, who are sovereign, will block the way to this treachery, this deception,” Nangaa said.
(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Aaron Ross)
