Ramaphosa and Kagame agree on “urgent need for a ceasefire" in DR Congo conflict

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, held a telephone call with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, Tuesday January 28 to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where M23 rebels have reportedly gained more territory after they said they had seized control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

A statement released on X by South Africa’s presidential office said Ramaphosa and Kagame agreed on the “urgent need for a ceasefire and the resumption of peace talks by all parties who are involved in the conflict.”

The call between the two heads of state was held amid worsening relations between Rwanda and DRC. This was a result of Kinshasa alleging that Kigali is backing the M23 attack in the Central African nation.

However, Kagame’s government insists that it is not supporting the rebel group.

Several African leaders, including Angola’s President João Lourenço have attempted to bring peace to DRC and mediate the tension between Kinshasa and Kigali.

Peace talks that were focused on addressing to DRC’s crisis were scheduled to be held in Angola’s capital, Luanda, in December 2024. However, they collapsed after DRC and Rwanda authorities failed to reach an agreement on terms.

Four more soldiers of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday, bringing the death toll of SANDF peacekeepers to 13 since last week, South Africa's Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed on Tuesday.

The SANDF soldiers are part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), deployed to support and assist the government of Africa's second-largest country to restore peace, security, and stability.

"The SANDF remains fully committed to its peacekeeping responsibilities under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and SAMIDRC," said the defense department in the Tuesday statement.

The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, on Monday in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict in more than a decade.

Congo accused Rwanda of sending its troops over the border, while Rwanda said fighting near the border threatened its security, without directly commenting on whether its troops were in Congo.