Qatar emerges as diplomatic player in Congo peace efforts

Congolese officials and negotiators for the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have arrived in Doha for talks to hammer out a ceasefire and end months of fighting that have raised fears of a wider regional conflict, four sources told Reuters on Thursday.

M23's rapid advance this year has left thousands of civilians dead, displaced hundreds of thousands more and given the rebels control over much of Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern borderlands, an area rich in tin, gold and coltan.

Members of both delegations confirmed their presence in the Qatari capital and said there was a face-to-face meeting on Wednesday, but they were still discussing the framework for talks.

All of the sources - two government officials and two rebel representatives - requested anonymity as the Qatari mediators had requested they not speak to journalists.

Qatar convened a meeting last month between Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

It was the two leaders' first encounter since M23 launched its current offensive in January. The subsequent push for peace talks is the latest effort to end the years-long conflict, which has its roots in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

A source with knowledge of Qatar's mediation told Reuters that the two sides held a discreet meeting in Doha earlier this month to prepare the peace talks.

But the negotiations, originally meant to start on Wednesday, continue to hit roadblocks.

"Kinshasa sent delegates without qualifications or the ability to negotiate," one of the rebel sources said on Thursday.

A Congolese government source, meanwhile, cautioned that any resolution of the conflict would take months.

The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to the ethnic Tutsi-led M23.

Rwanda has denied backing M23. It says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a Rwandan militia operating in eastern Congo that was founded by perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, which targeted Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

M23 had long demanded direct negotiations with Kinshasa. Tshisekedi had refused, however, arguing that M23 was merely a proxy for Rwanda.

Congo's government then agreed to direct talks in Angola last month, but M23 pulled out the day before they were meant to begin, citing European Union sanctions imposed on M23 and Rwandan officials.