DRC: Tshisekedi rules out M23 participation in national dialogue

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi on Thursday ruled out the participation of the Kigali-backed M23 armed group in a national dialogue intended to reconcile a country whose history is marked by crises.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a Central African country rich in natural resources and struck by the worst Ebola epidemic in its history, has been plagued since 2021 by the resurgence of the anti-government group M23, which has seized vast swathes of territory in the east with the support of the Rwandan army.

Kinshasa and the M23 have committed to a ceasefire in July 2025 in Doha, and the DRC and Rwanda endorsed a peace agreement in Washington in December, but neither Qatari nor American mediation has so far succeeded in silencing the guns in the east.

In mid-July, the Congolese presidency announced the organization of a national dialogue long demanded by the opposition and part of civil society, without giving details on its modalities.

Part of the opposition wants to include representatives of the M23 or of former president Joseph Kabila (from 2001 to 2019), sentenced to death in absentia by the Congolese justice system in September 2025 for "complicity" with the armed group, in this dialogue.

On Thursday, Félix Tshisekedi detailed in an address to the nation broadcast on national television the modalities of the national dialogue, excluding however the participation of the M23 "as a political component".

"The Doha process remains the appropriate framework for dealing with" the M23, "and the national dialogue will not replace this process," Mr. Tshisekedi said during this address, in which he again demanded the withdrawal of "foreign forces" from Congolese territory.

"A path of reintegration into the national community will nevertheless remain open to those who, individually, sincerely and verifiably renounce their armed involvement and all forms of violence and who unequivocally condemn the aggression of which our country is a victim," he added.

The M23, which has never officially acknowledged its links with Kigali, has not reacted to these announcements at this stage.

- " Compromise " -

The dialogue, with a "maximum duration of three months" will be convened by the President following the work of a preparatory committee which will be established "in the very next few days", Mr. Tshisekedi said.

According to him, it should allow all Congolese people, with the exception of "those who fight the constitutional order with weapons", to examine "with lucidity" the "fractures" of the country.

Consultations will first be organized in all provinces of the country, then their recommendations will be compiled into a document which will serve as the basis for "national conferences" planned in Kinshasa, the capital.

These meetings will result in the adoption of a "national pact", the conclusions of which will be implemented by the institutions, he indicated.

The Congolese political opposition has formed a united front in recent months against a proposed constitutional amendment put forward by the ruling majority, which it accuses of opening the door to a third term for Mr. Tshisekedi, elected in 2019 and then re-elected in 2023.

The Congolese president stressed that the dialogue "must serve exclusively peace, national unity and the higher interest of the Republic," inviting political leaders to "renounce all hate speech" and announcing measures for "political détente."

"Faced with weapons, divisions and the wounds of history, we have always known how to seek the path of compromise through dialogue," argued Mr. Tshisekedi.

The M23 seized control of the major cities of Goma and Bukavu in early 2025, capitals of the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu (east), bordering Rwanda and among the most populated in the country.

The Congolese head of state did not specify whether their inhabitants could participate in this dialogue and under what circumstances.

On Wednesday, Congolese authorities ordered the suspension of activities at public universities located in areas under the control of the M23, which has established a parallel administration there, after denouncing "illegal" appointments within these institutions.