M23 rebels pull out of peace talks with Congo after EU sanctions

GOMA, DR Congo

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels on Monday pulled out of peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo's government less than 24 hours before the warring parties in eastern Congo's worst conflict in decades were due to convene in Angola.

The rebel alliance, of which M23 is a member, said it was withdrawing from what could have been the two sides' first direct negotiations because of European Union sanctions imposed earlier in the day against M23 and Rwandan officials.

The Congo River Alliance said in a statement that the EU's actions were aimed at "obstructing the much-anticipated talks".

The M23 has long demanded direct negotiations with the Kinshasa government, but Congo President Felix Tshisekedi had refused, arguing that M23 is merely a front for Rwanda.

He reversed his position on Sunday and agreed to send a delegation to Luanda in response to a series of battlefield setbacks and prodding from his ally Angola.

Tina Salama, a spokesperson for Tshisekedi, said after the M23's withdrawal that the government delegation would travel to Luanda anyway.

"We confirm our participation at the invitation of the mediators," she told Reuters.

The conflict, which is rooted in the fallout from Rwanda's 1994 genocide and competition for mineral riches, has quickly spiralled since January.

M23 fighters have captured eastern Congo's two largest cities, with thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.

The United Nations and international powers accuse Rwanda of providing arms and sending soldiers to fight with the ethnic Tutsi-led M23. Rwanda says its forces are acting in self defence against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali.

The European Union sanctions were some of the most expansive to hit the M23 and Rwanda since the rebels stepped up their advance earlier this year.

Zobel Behalal, a senior expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, said they were notable in going after Rwanda's mines board and a gold refinery.

"The EU sanctions ... are a recognition that profits from natural resources are one of the main motivations for Rwanda's involvement in this conflict," Behalal told Reuters.

Rwanda's government spokesperson, the mines board and the gold refinery did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

In its statement, the M23's Congo River Alliance said international actors had adopted an "incomprehensible and ambiguous stance."

"Successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those enacted on the eve of the Luanda discussions, severely undermine direct dialogue and make any progress impossible," it said.

Earlier in the day, Rwanda had hit out at Belgium, which has called for strong EU action against Kigali, by severing diplomatic relations and giving Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave.

The foreign ministry accused Belgium, the former colonial power in Rwanda and Congo, of "using lies and manipulation to secure an unjustified hostile opinion of Rwanda."

Belgium's Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot said Brussels would reciprocate by declaring Rwandan diplomats persona non grata, calling Kigali's move "disproportionate".