Congo rebel commander to Reuters: We’re not concerned by Qatar’s mediation

The commander of the rebel coalition that has taken control of large areas of east Congo told Reuters on Thursday that the organization was not bound by a ceasefire demand made by the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo during a surprise meeting in Qatar.

Felix Tshisekedi, the president of Congo, and Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, met Tuesday in Doha for the first time since the M23’s most recent assault, which saw the rebels take more land than ever before.

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M23 canceled direct negotiations with Tshisekedi’s government that were scheduled to take place in Angola the day before the sit-down.

“We will fight until our cause is heard,” Corneille Nangaa, the commander of the M23-led Congo River Alliance (AFC), told Reuters on Thursday in response to a question regarding the group’s prospects.

“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.”

A planned minerals-for-security agreement with the United States was also rejected by Nangaa.

This month, the State Department stated that it was willing to investigate important mineral agreements with Congo; but, Kinshasa has not made its proposal public.

“The Congolese people, who are sovereign, will block the way to this treachery, this deception,” stated Nangaa.