DR Congo, M23 talks resume in Doha: Qatar

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 militia have restarted peace talks in Doha, mediator Qatar said Tuesday, following reports of violence in the DRC’s conflict-torn east.

“We’ve received the two parties here in Doha from the DRC and the M23” to discuss the implementation of a previous agreement, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a regular news briefing.

The Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 inked a ceasefire agreement in Doha in July aimed at leading to a permanent end to the fighting that has devastated the DRC’s mineral-rich east.

Under the terms of the deal, the parties were to begin peace talks on August 8 and finalise an agreement by August 18, but both deadlines have expired.

Ansari said the current talks “included the discussions over finding a mechanism of monitoring the ceasefire, alongside (an) exchange of prisoners and detainees”.

“Both parties are still in Doha discussing these issues,” he said, adding talks were coordinated with the United States and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The July deal followed an earlier, separate peace agreement between the Congolese and Rwandan governments inked in Washington.

The M23 had insisted on seeking its own ceasefire deal with Kinshasa, saying the DRC-Rwanda deal signed in June left out issues that still needed to be addressed.

Previous ceasefire agreements for eastern DRC have collapsed, and earlier this month security sources said fighting had broken out between the Congolese army and the M23 despite the truce commitment.

Rights groups have also highlighted abuses in DRC, with Human Rights Watch last week alleging M23 fighters had carried out ethnically targeted “mass killings”.

Neighbouring Rwanda denies providing military backing to the M23, but UN experts say the Rwandan army played a “critical” role in the group’s offensive, including combat operations.