Congolese religious leaders are aiming to organise peace talks that would bring President Felix Tshisekedi's government, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and exiled opposition figures around the same table, two officials said on Wednesday. The effort would require getting Tshisekedi to abandon his position of refusing to sit down with the rebels, whom he brands terrorists. But as M23 continues to advance after seizing eastern Congo's two largest cities, those involved in the effort say they are hopeful.
"We, the two churches, Catholic and Protestant, are trying to get the whole world around one table," Msgr. Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the influential Catholic bishops conference (CENCO), said in an interview in Kenya's capital Nairobi, where he met with President William Ruto to discuss how to combine regional mediation efforts with national ones. The church-led diplomacy is the latest push for a resolution as anxiety rises in the capital Kinshasa, with some officials seeking to leave amid fear of a coup. — Reuters
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