The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group on Saturday, July 19, signed a declaration of principles to end fighting in eastern DR Congo, a sign of progress even as sources briefed on the talks said details needed to be negotiated.
The signing by representatives from both sides took place at a ceremony in Doha, Qatar, that followed months of Qatari mediation after talks began in April.
The U.S. has exerted pressure to finalize a durable peace deal in the volatile Central African country, with President Donald Trump saying that he hoped pacifying the region would attract Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
M23 seized Goma, eastern DR Congo’s largest city, in January and went on to make gains across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
The fighting, yet to be put out completely, has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year, while escalating the risk of a full-scale regional war. Several of Congo’s neighbors already had troops deployed in eastern DR Congo when the advance began.
In March, Qatar brokered a surprise meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame during which they called for an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire.
That led to direct talks, also in Doha, between DR Congo and M23. Kinshasa had previously rejected the idea of holding talks with M23, branding it a terrorist group.
Sources in both delegations have expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations and the lack of progress on confidence-building measures including the release of M23 members held by DR Congo and the re-opening of banks in rebel-held territory.
