{"id":6812,"date":"2026-06-11T21:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed"},"modified":"2026-06-11T21:25:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T21:25:22","slug":"will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed","title":{"rendered":"Will Togo Mediation in East Congo Succeed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>In a new attempt to recalibrate the regional and international mediation efforts in the crisis in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe\u0301 chaired a high-level meeting in the capital Lome\u0301 last Monday, acting as the African Union’s mediator assigned to the conflict in Eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region. This comes amid ongoing field escalations that threaten to undermine political efforts and put peace pathways to a difficult test.<\/p>\n

The meeting, dedicated to the semi-annual assessment of peace efforts, took place at a time when Eastern Congo is experiencing increasing security and political complexities, with ongoing battles between the Congolese army and the “Congo River\/M23 Alliance,” alongside conflicting regional and international agendas regarding how to end a conflict that has overshadowed the Great Lakes region for many years.<\/p>\n

According to a local source, the meeting was preceded by technical sessions that extended over Sunday and Monday, involving representatives from several active regional and international institutions, including the African Union mediators’ committee, the United Nations, the East African Community, the Central African States group, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, in addition to the International Committee of the Red Cross.<\/p>\n

This broad participation reflects an increasing recognition that the crisis in Eastern Congo is no longer just a limited internal conflict, but has become an intertwined regional issue linked to border security, influence competition, and natural resources, as well as the humanitarian repercussions affecting millions of civilians in the impacted areas.<\/p>\n

Gnassingbe\u0301 stated during the meeting that participants “have taken an important step since January in bringing more order to the structure of African mediation,” considering the gathering a significant advancement in improving collective work and seeking lasting solutions to the crisis. He added that the mediation mission will continue “with humility, determination, and perseverance,” despite the difficulties and challenges it faces.<\/p>\n

Togo’s role is viewed as an attempt to restore the credibility of African diplomacy in managing conflicts within the continent, following years of criticism regarding the lack of coordination among various initiatives and the multiplicity of mediators and conflicting political pathways.<\/p>\n

One of the key outcomes of the Lome\u0301 meeting was the endorsement of enhancing coordination between the African mediator’s office, the facilitators’ committee, the African Union Commission, and the joint secretariat, in a move aimed at reducing the duplication that has characterized mediation efforts in recent years.<\/p>\n

Participants also agreed on the necessity of structuring a clearer African contribution to the Washington and Doha tracks, allowing for the African role in ongoing negotiations regarding the Congolese crisis not to be marginalized, especially in light of criticisms that some external initiatives have focused more on security and bilateral diplomatic aspects than on addressing the complex roots of the conflict.<\/p>\n

The attendees requested the preparation of an executive action plan within 15 days to translate the meeting’s decisions into practical steps, indicating a desire to move from the phase of political consultations to concrete implementation mechanisms, despite everyone’s awareness of the difficulty of the task amid ongoing military tensions on the ground.<\/p>\n

However, the ongoing diplomatic movement faces a highly complex field reality. The Congolese armed forces announced last Saturday the continuation of military operations carried out by the “Congo River\/M23 Alliance” in the eastern part of the country, despite the existence of multiple peace pathways led by both the United States and Qatar.<\/p>\n

The Congolese military indicated that attacks on towns in North Kivu province continue, in addition to clashes and military movements in the highlands of Fizi and Uvira in South Kivu province, as well as drone attacks targeting Bangoka Airport in the city of Kisangani, reflecting the fragility of the security situation and the widening scope of tension.<\/p>\n

The M23 movement’s rebellion is one of the most complicated issues in the current crisis, as Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of providing direct military support to the movement and even participating in military operations within Congolese territory, accusations that Kigali continuously denies, asserting that its security concerns are linked to the presence of hostile armed groups near its borders.<\/p>\n

The Washington agreement signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda stipulated mutual security commitments, primarily the withdrawal of Rwandan military forces and equipment from Congolese territory, alongside security arrangements aimed at de-escalation and building trust between the two parties.<\/p>\n

However, the practical implementation of the agreement still faces significant obstacles, especially with the continued exchange of accusations and the escalation of military operations. Reports monitoring peace agreements in Africa indicate that the implementation rate of the Washington agreement has not exceeded 23.3% as of early January 2026, reflecting the gap between political commitments and the field reality.<\/p>\n

Part of the failure of previous mediations is attributed to the entangled regional and international interests in Eastern Congo, a region considered one of the richest in the world in strategic minerals, including coltan, cobalt, lithium, and gold, resources that directly feed into modern technological industries and the production of batteries and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Observers believe that this economic dimension makes the conflict transcend local security calculations, also linking it to an increasing international competition for access to vital minerals, which explains the rising American interest in the region in recent years.<\/p>\n

In this context, Congolese President Fe\u0301lix Tshisekedi has attempted since early 2026 to restore the African Union to a leadership position in mediation efforts by launching a broad diplomatic movement that included hosting Togo for a ministerial meeting on January 17, which brought together mediators from Qatar and the United States and facilitators from the African Union, in addition to delegations from Kinshasa and Kigali.<\/p>\n

This step came after a decline in trust in previous initiatives launched during 2025, which failed to achieve a clear security breakthrough or impose a lasting calm, despite the multiplicity of meetings and announced agreements.<\/p>\n

Regional mediations have also faced criticism regarding the lack of a unified stance among different African organizations, as some parties adopted varying approaches in dealing with the crisis, focusing on military, political, or humanitarian aspects, which weakened the effectiveness of the efforts made.<\/p>\n

In light of these circumstances, it seems that Togo’s mediation faces a highly challenging test, as its success depends not only on coordinating mediators or formulating new executive plans but also on the ability of the conflicting parties to make real concessions, and the willingness of regional and international powers to support a unified political path instead of competing initiatives.<\/p>\n

While Lome\u0301 seeks to give a new boost to African efforts, the question remains: Will the new mediation succeed in breaking the cycle of stagnation that has plagued the Congolese crisis for years, or will the ongoing field escalation keep peace opportunities hostage to intertwined military and political calculations?<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. In a new attempt to recalibrate the regional and international mediation efforts in the crisis in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe\u0301 chaired a high-level meeting in the capital Lome\u0301 last Monday, acting as the African Union’s mediator assigned to the conflict in Eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":6811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-6812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nWill Togo Mediation in East Congo Succeed? - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a new attempt to recalibrate the regional and international mediation efforts in the crisis in Eastern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Togo Mediation in East Congo Succeed?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a new attempt to recalibrate the regional and international mediation efforts in the crisis in Eastern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Africa Press English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T21:14:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T21:25:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/06\/sm_1781213068.836835.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Will Togo Mediation in East Congo Succeed?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T21:14:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T21:25:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\"},\"wordCount\":1149,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/africa-home\/sites\/69\/2026\/06\/sm_1781213068.836835.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/articles\/will-togo-mediation-in-east-congo-succeed\",\"name\":\"Will Togo Mediation in East Congo Succeed? 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