The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called “special government employee,” a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
“Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“At this stage, we can’t say who will make up the delegation,” presidency spokesperson Tina Salama said.
M23 has acknowledged receipt of Angola’s invitation, its spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X on Sunday, without saying whether it would participate.
M23 made a series of demands after the talks were announced, including asking Tshisekedi to publicly express his commitment to negotiate with them directly.
Angola has been trying to mediate a lasting ceasefire and lower tensions between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda, which has been accused of backing the Tutsi-led rebel group.
Rwanda denies those allegations.
The conflict, which has blighted eastern Congo for decades, is rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo’s vast mineral resources.
It escalated significantly this year, with M23 gaining ground it had never controlled before, including east Congo’s two biggest cities and a host of smaller localities.
Congo’s government has said at least 7,000 people have died in the fighting since January.
At least 600,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since November, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office.
Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Saturday urged all parties to cease hostilities from midnight to create a conducive climate for the talks.
“The ceasefire must include all possible hostile actions against the civilian population and the occupation of new positions,” he said in a statement.
Both Congo and M23 have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefires in the past.
Fighting did not appear to have stopped on Sunday, as a local official reported clashes in the Walikale region.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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