The President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, has been officially appointed as the new African Union (AU) mediator for the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), succeeding Angolan President João Lourenço.

The new appointment aims to relaunch diplomatic efforts in one of the most violent conflicts in the Great Lakes region.

According to a RFIBefore heading to Kinshasa, Faure Gnassingbé was in Luanda, Angola, where he was received by João Lourenço at the Presidential Palace. According to Angola's Foreign Minister, Tete António, it was a symbolic passing of the baton and the sharing of information about the mediation process that Angola has been conducting since 2022.

"Whenever necessary, the new mediator will turn to Luanda, not only because Angola holds the AU presidency, but also because of the institutional memory it has of this process," explained Tete António.

Since the end of 2021, several ceasefires have been proclaimed, but they have never been respected. The M23 rebel group has intensified its offensives and recently conquered the towns of Goma and Bukavu, forcing around 1.2 million people to flee their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

(Photo DR)