Exclusive-Congo and Rwanda presidents call for east Congo ceasefire during Qatar sit-down

By Andrew Mills and Aaron Ross

DOHA (Reuters) -Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame called for a ceasefire in eastern Congo on Tuesday during their first meeting since M23 rebels stepped up an offensive there in January.

A joint statement issued along with Qatar, whose emir mediated the sit-down in Doha, said the ceasefire should be "immediate and unconditional".

But it was unclear whether that would stop the M23 insurgents who now control more territory than ever before in eastern Congo, including the region's two biggest cities.

Congo accuses Rwanda of sending arms and Rwandan troops to support the rebels, whose offensive has plunged eastern Congo into its worst conflict in decades.

Rwanda has said its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali.

Neighbouring countries have been working to broker a ceasefire but an attempt to bring Congo's government and M23 leaders together at a meeting in Angola on Tuesday failed when M23 pulled out on Monday afternoon.

At Tuesday's meeting in Qatar, Tshisekedi and Kagame "agreed on the need to continue the discussions initiated in Doha in order to establish solid foundations for lasting peace," the joint statement said.

A diplomat briefed on the talks said the meeting was "informal" and "not meant to replace any existing efforts."

The conflict in east Congo is rooted in the fallout from Rwanda's 1994 genocide and competition for mineral riches. It has spiralled since January, with thousands of people killed and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.

The Gulf Arab state of Qatar has acted as a mediator in a number of conflicts, most recently working with Egypt and the U.S. to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which broke down earlier on Tuesday.

Qatar's close ties with Rwanda mean Kagame would have had a hard time refusing an invitation to Tuesday's meeting, something Tshisekedi would have also recognised, said Congolese analyst Bob Kabamba of the University of Liege in Belgium.

"Developments on the ground are making things difficult for Felix Tshisekedi. He needs to find a solution," he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Mills and Aaron Ross; Additional reporting by Sonia Rolley; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Gareth Jones, Sharon Singleton and Daniel Wallis)