DR Congo, M23 rebels announce ceasefire after peace talks in Qatar

Tough negotiations are expected to resume in Qatar in the coming weeks for a broader peace deal.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have agreed to pause fighting as they work towards a broader peace deal, according to their joint statement.

The truce, declared late on Wednesday after a round of negotiations in Qatar’s capital Doha, has raised hopes that the latest wave of violence, spurred by M23’s bloody January assault and capture of the DRC’s two largest cities, may begin to subside.

“Both parties reaffirm their commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities, a categorical rejection of any hate speech, intimidation, and call on local communities to uphold these commitments,” said the joint statement.

The “cessation of hostilities” would apply “throughout the duration of the talks and until their conclusion”, it added.

Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from the eastern DRC city of Goma, said the two sides’ mutual agreement to pursue peace, after numerous failed negotiation attempts, was an encouraging shift.

However, he added that reports of continued clashes, including in South Kivu province, show how “fragile” any truce agreement is.

The peace push mediated by Qatar comes after the Gulf state successfully brokered a surprise meeting last month between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The session apparently paved the way for direct talks between DRC and M23, which Kinshasa had previously refused to meet with.

The decades-long conflict has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with M23 made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi fighters.

Many were former rebels integrated into the DRC army who later defected, citing discrimination and broken peace deals.

Since 2021, the two sides have agreed to at least six truces that later collapsed. The latest bout of violence since January has killed thousands and raised fears of a wider regional war.

The DRC, United Nations and Western governments have accused Rwanda of supporting M23 with troops and arms, but Kigali has long denied sending military help.

‘Crucial step’

Despite the truce statement, some DRC government and M23 sources cited by the Reuters news agency expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations.

The sources said disagreements over potential confidence-building measures, such as the release of DRC-held prisoners accused of links to Rwanda and M23, had almost derailed the outcome.

Ultimately, however, Qatar managed to pressure the two sides into releasing a joint statement agreeing to continue to work on a truce, according to informed diplomats cited by Reuters.

“This is a crucial step towards ending the violence,” Maxime Prevot, Belgium’s foreign affairs minister, said on Wednesday in a post on X.

Another informed source quoted by the AFP news agency said a “deeper round of discussions” was expected in Doha “in the coming weeks”.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies