DR Congo and M23 fighters agree to roadmap for peace talks, Switzerland says
Both sides had previously signed an agreement in Doha last year, but fighting has continued in mineral-rich eastern DRC, a region that has endured years of conflict.
The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 rebel group have agreed on a roadmap for peace talks aimed at resolving the protracted conflict in eastern DRC. According to Switzerland, which hosted the negotiations, the parties have committed to pursue negotiations towards comprehensive peace and conflict resolution.
The talks, which took place from August 17 to 21, resulted in a joint statement outlining sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations under the Doha Framework Agreement signed last year. The parties also agreed to establish a mechanism to address problems implementing the peace deal and affirmed the importance of a standardised method for reporting allegations of ceasefire violations.
A ceasefire verification mission is set to arrive in Minembwe, in South Kivu province, on Monday. This will be the first formal inspection since the peace deal was signed. The eastern DRC has been plagued by decades of conflict, with multiple armed groups, including the M23, fighting over its mineral-rich territory.
Brief written by urgent.news from Euronews, AllAfrica, Gulf News — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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