Direct peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels will begin in the Angolan capital on March 18, Angola's presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels will engage in direct negotiations in the coming days to end the conflict in the country’s mineral-rich east, according to the presidency of Angola, which will mediate the talks.

Angola has acted as a mediator in the conflict in eastern Congo, which escalated in late January when the Rwanda-backed rebels advanced and took control of the strategic eastern Congo city of Goma. In February, M23 seized Bukavu, eastern Congo’s second biggest city.