DRC and M23 Rebels Agree on Roadmap for Peace Talks
Al Jazeera Staff
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23-led rebel alliance have agreed on a roadmap for peace negotiations, following five days of talks in Switzerland. The agreement outlines sequential steps and timelines, though fighting continues in the east.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23-led rebel alliance have agreed on a roadmap for peace negotiations, according to a joint statement, as fighting continues in the country's east.
The statement on Saturday said the parties had developed a "roadmap outlining sequential steps and timelines for the negotiations" under a framework agreement signed in Doha, Qatar, in November.
The roadmap follows five days of talks in Switzerland, from August 17 to 21, attended by representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland, and the African Union Commission.
The two sides said they had agreed on "a standard mechanism for reporting" violations of the ceasefire and would establish a body to address issues in the implementation of the Doha agreement.
A ceasefire verification mission is expected to arrive in Minembwe, an area in the eastern South Kivu province, on Monday.
Earlier this month, the DRC handed over 15 prisoners to the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and M23 in a transfer mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of the peace process.
Fighting continues
However, the security situation remains fragile as fighting continues on the ground.
On Saturday, AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka accused "coalition forces" of the DRC of conducting suicide drone strikes on populated areas in the Minembwe area the same day. "These bombings have caused civilian casualties and significant damage to civilian infrastructure," he wrote on social media platform X. Al Jazeera could not immediately verify the claim.
The United Nations warned in July that the security situation in North and South Kivu provinces in eastern DRC had been further destabilized by the increasing use of drones by the parties.
An Ebola outbreak in the region has also exacerbated the crisis, with about 2,500 people dying from the virus since May.
The conflict in eastern DRC reignited in 2021 when M23 resumed its offensive. The armed group has since seized vast territories, including the provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu, which fell in early 2025. The fighting has killed thousands and displaced about 5.3 million people in the region.
The conflict traces back to the 1994 genocide by Hutu extremists against Tutsis in Rwanda and the collapse of Mobutu Sese Seko's government in the then-Zaire.
The DRC, the United Nations, and Western governments have accused Rwanda of backing M23, a Tutsi-led group, with troops and weapons, but Kigali denies the allegation.
Conversely, Rwanda accuses the DRC of supporting Hutu militia forces such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a claim Kinshasa rejects.
The United States mediated a separate peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda last year.
