The high-stakes meeting had been billed as the first formal engagement between Kinshasa and the M23 since the rebel group seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern Congo.

Though no official reason has been given for the delay, sources from both camps indicated that invitations for the session had not been dispatched as of Monday.

A Congolese official attributed the postponement to logistical challenges, saying, “It’s simply a matter of organization.”

However, behind the scenes, the delay appears more politically charged. The rebel alliance has issued a list of six preconditions it insists must be met by President Félix Tshisekedi’s government before entering any meaningful negotiations.

The demands include a public declaration from President Tshisekedi showing commitment to direct talks, the repeal of restrictive parliamentary resolutions, the cancellation of death sentences and arrest warrants for AFC/M23 leaders, the release of alleged sympathizers detained based on ethnicity or association, and an end to hate speech and discriminatory practices against Swahili and Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese. The rebels also want a formal bilateral ceasefire agreement signed before talks proceed.

The talks were arranged following a surprise meeting in Doha between President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, mediated by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed on the need for a ceasefire and urged Congolese factions to pursue dialogue.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of Tshisekedi’s claims that Rwanda is supporting M23’s offensive in the east. Rwanda has consistently denied these allegations, insisting that its primary concern is the continued presence of the FDLR in the DRC. Rwanda maintains that the militia group, linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, poses a significant threat to Rwanda’s security due to its genocidal ideology.

Just two days before the Kagame–Tshisekedi meeting in Doha, AFC/M23 rebels had withdrawn from planned talks with Kinshasa in Angola, in protest against international sanctions imposed on members of the group.

The M23, which now controls nearly half of Eastern Congo, had been advancing rapidly towards Kisangani—the country’s third-largest city—until the Qatari-brokered ceasefire halted their movement.

The rebel leadership, including Corneille Nangaa (AFC President), Bertrand Bisimwa (M23 Political Head), and Major General Sultani Makenga (Military Commander), are currently facing death sentences issued in absentia by a Congolese military court.

The government has placed bounties of up to $5 million on their capture, with an additional $4 million reward for their alleged accomplices.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba defended the rewards in March, calling the rebel leaders "fugitives guilty of treason and war crimes."

But Nangaa, speaking from an undisclosed location believed to be within rebel-held North Kivu, dismissed the move as an act of desperation.

“This so-called trial and the baseless punishments are a clear sign of a regime gripped by panic and on the verge of collapse,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether Tshisekedi’s administration will heed the rebel alliance’s demands and pave the way for direct talks aimed at silencing the guns in eastern DRC for good.

Bertrand Bisimwa, M23's political leader and Corneille Nangaa, the leader of a political-military coalition, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) during a press conference in Goma on Thursday, January 30, 2025.