Presidents of Congo and Rwanda meet in Qatar to discuss the insurgency in eastern Congo

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The presidents of Congo and neighboring Rwanda met Tuesday in Qatar for their first direct talks since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized two major cities in mineral-rich eastern Congo earlier this year.

The meeting between Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame to discuss the insurgency was mediated by Qatar, the three governments said in a statement. The state-run Qatar News Agency published an image of the two African leaders meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the energy-rich nation's ruling emir.

Congo and Rwanda reaffirmed their commitment to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, but the joint statement offered no specifics on how that ceasefire would be implemented or monitored.

The summit came as a previous attempt to bring Congo’s government and M23 leaders together for ceasefire negotiations failed. The rebels pulled out Monday after the European Union announced sanctions on rebel leaders.

Qatar has hosted peace talks between Afghanistan's Taliban and the United States, Chad and rebel forces and over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

A diplomat briefed on the meeting said both Tshisekedi and Kagame had formally requested Qatar’s mediation for the talks, which the diplomat said were informal and aimed at building trust rather than resolving all outstanding issues. The diplomat spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Peace talks between Congo and Rwanda were unexpectedly canceled in December after Rwanda made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on a direct dialogue between Congo and the M23 rebels, which Congo refused at the time.

The conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by Bukavu in February.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.

The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the east.

The U.N. Human Rights Council last month launched a commission to investigate atrocities, including allegations of rape and killing akin to “summary executions” by both sides.