Talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels that has seized swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC will begin in Luanda on March 18, host Angola said.

"Following the steps taken by the Angolan mediation... delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 will begin direct peace talks on March 18 in the city of Luanda," the Angolan presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Previous rounds of peace talks mediated by Angola have failed to halt the fighting between the Congolese army and the M23, in a volatile region of the DRC riven by infighting between various armed groups.

But on Tuesday, Angola said the two sides had agreed to come to the negotiating table, after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi discussed the conflict with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco.

However, Luanda offered no timetable for when the negotiations would take place.

Tshisekedi had previously refused to engage in dialogue with the M23, which has carried out a lightning offensive in the eastern DRC with Rwanda's backing.

But Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Tuesday said "direct negotiations" between the two sides would happen in the coming days, after receiving Tshisekedi for discussions.

The M23 last month had said it wanted "dialogue" to resolve the conflict.

De facto engagement

Since January, the M23 has seized the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, and has since set up to govern for the long term in the regions under its control.

The M23's march has reportedly killed more than 7,000 people since the beginning of 2025, according to the DRC.

Rwanda denies providing the M23 with military assistance.

But a UN experts' report found that Rwanda maintains some 4,000 troops in the eastern DRC in support of the armed group.

Rwanda also maintains de facto control over the armed group in order to exploit the eastern DRC's rich veins of valuable minerals such as gold and coltan, according to the report.

To justify its backing for the M23, Rwanda has pointed to the presence in the eastern DRC of militants from the FDLR, a group founded by Hutu leaders involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis.