Angolan General heads peace mechanism in eastern DRC

Luanda – The Angolan Lieutenant-General Nassone João began Wednesday his duties as head of the Ad-Hoc Verification Mechanism, created for the pacification of the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The ad-hoc mechanism was adopted in July 2022, in Luanda, by the Tripartite Summit of Angola, DRC and Rwanda, in the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

To start his duties the Angolan military went to the city of Goma (DRC), with the minister of Foreign Affair of Angola, Téte António, who introduce the Lieutenant-General to the local authorities.

The visit of minister Téte António to Goma happens in the scope of the Angolan mediation towards the conflict between DRC and and Rwanda.

In that Congolese city (Goma), Téte António had separate meetings with the military governor of the North Kivu Province, who was accompanied by the deputy governor, the mayor of Goma and the commander of the 34th Military Region of Goma, the DRC National Police Provincial Commissioner, the 34th Navy Group, the governor main adviser and the commander of Goma International Airport.

Téte António took the opportunity to hold working meetings with the members of Goma Province Restricted Security Committee, as well as with the Commander of the ICGLR Extended Joint Verification Mechanism (EVM).

In Goma, which is a city with roughly 248,860 people, the Angolan Foreign Affairs minister also met with the representatives of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)

Diplomacy seeks pacification for eastern DRC

Last Saturday (5 November), Luanda hosted a tripartite meeting of the heads of the Angolan, DRC and Rwandan diplomacies, with the aim of relaunching the dialogue between the Congolese and Rwandan authorities.

Saturday´s meeting in the Angolan capital city also aimed to resume the process of implementing the Luanda Roadmap of 6 July 2022.

In the wake of the same process, on 15 October, Ambassador Téte António presented Lieutenant-General Nassone João to the President of the DR Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, and also to the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame in Kigali.

From 20 to 21 July, Luanda hosted the Meeting of the Permanent Joint Commission between the DRC and Rwanda, which had not met for ten years.

Last July 6, in Luanda, the DRC and Rwanda heads of State, under the mediation of the Angolan President, Joao Lourenco, agreed on an immediate ceasefire and the creation of an Ad-Hoc Monitoring Mechanism, led by Lieutenant-General Nassone Joao.

Source: Angola Press News Agency