Peace agreement –
The DRC and M23 are suitable for an extended truce in Qatar
Kinshasa and the armed group supported by Rwanda signed a declaration of principles on Saturday including a commitment to a permanent cease-fire.
The representative of the DRC Sumbu Sita Mambu and the executive secretary of the M23 Benjamin Mbonima group agreed with a cease-fire.
AFP/Karim Jaafar
The M23 armed group, supported by Rwanda, and Kinshasa signed a declaration of principles in Qatar on Saturday including a commitment to a permanent cease-fire, hailed as a significant “advance” for peace in eastern eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC).
This region rich in minerals has been prey to conflicts for over 30 years and previous peace and ceasefire agreements have been concluded and then raped in recent years.
The M23, which seized strategic cities during a flash offensive in January and February, insisted on negotiating its own ceasefire agreement with Kinshasa, after its Rwandan ally signed a peace agreement in Washington last month.
Towards a “permanent” ceasefire
“The parties reaffirm their commitment to a permanent cease-fire” including the ban on “of any kind” attacks, the “dissemination of hate propaganda or encouraging violence”, and “any attempt to conquer or modify positions by force on the ground”, indicates a declaration of principles signed by senior M23 and DRC in Doha after three months of discussions of the Gulf.
The parties undertook to implement the provisions of the declaration “at the latest on July 29, 2025”. The text states the commitment to start “no later than August 8, 2025” of formal negotiations for a global peace agreement which must be signed “no later than August 18, 2025”.
A conflict that killed thousands of
“This declaration takes into account the red lines that we have always defended, in particular the non-negotiable withdrawal of the AFC/m23 of the occupied parties followed by the deployment of our institutions,” welcomed X Congolese government Patrick Muyaya.
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“One of the most important clauses of the declaration of intent is the emphasis on the extension of state control and authority over its entire territory,” said the United States special envoy for Africa, Massad Boulos, present at the signing.
The violence has intensified in recent months in this border region of Rwanda, with an Éclair de M23 and Rwandan troops (FDR) on Goma and Bukavu, facing an outdated Congolese army. They killed thousands of people, according to the Congolese government and the UN, and aggravated a humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands of displaced.
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