Angola ‘Deeply Concerned’ As DR Congo Battle Intensifies

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According to the foreign ministry, Angelo President Joao Lourenco has urged conflicting parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to resume their peace talks, which ended last year.

The ministry said in a statement late on Friday that “the conflict and security issues in the east of the DRC do not have a military solution.” Lourenco also urged the parties to “resume the negotiating table immediately.”

The M23 militia group, supported by Rwandan troops, has seized large tracts of land in the mineral-rich east of the DRC after the late last peace talks between Angola and the country’s leaders failed.

On January 23, 2025, as they advance toward Sake, 25 kilometers north of Goma, soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) ride on top of a tank. The Congolese army is battling it out to stop the M23’s advance towards Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in a barren plain surrounded by volcanic peaks and where shelters are scarce. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)

A pick up truck of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) patrols in Goma, on January 23, 2025. The M23 armed group is regaining control of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is also extending its armed grip on Goma, the provincial capital, almost entirely surrounded by fighting. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)

As their forces enter the provincial capital, which is home to one million people, there is a humanitarian crisis.

According to the Angolan statement, the attacks “reflect a dangerous escalation in this conflict, with enormous implications for the fragile humanitarian situation, particularly around the town of Goma, which is currently under siege.”

The M23 and its supporters’ “strongly condemns and repudiates these irresponsible actions that undermine all efforts and progress made in the Luanda Process to resolve this conflict peacefully,” according to Lourenco, which “deeply deplores the harmful effects on regional security.”

On top of a tank as they leave Goma on January 23, 2025, heading for Sake, soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) are riding. The Congolese army is battling it out to stop the M23’s advance towards Goma, a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in a barren plain surrounded by volcanic peaks and where shelters are scarce. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)

On January 23, 2025, the local population cheers the soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) as they enlist in a military operation in Sake, which is located 25 kilometers north of Goma. The M23 armed group is regaining control of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is also extending its armed grip on Goma, the provincial capital, almost entirely surrounded by fighting. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)

In online statements or in direct messages sent via email or text, US, British, and French citizens were urged to leave Goma while airports and borders were open.

With fighting intensifying, the United Nations mission in DRC, MONUSCO, said Friday that its peacekeepers were fighting against the M23.