The UN will soon send a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s volatile east to help enforce a ceasefire that has been breached despite peace agreements.
– The announcement comes a day after a meeting in Doha between representatives of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group and envoys from Kinshasa.
– Officials from the United States, the African Union and the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) were present as observers.
– At the meeting, the two sides agreed on the arrangements for setting up a monitoring mechanism for a “permanent” ceasefire.
– An intervention by MONUSCO was factored in in agreements concluded in recent months aimed at ending the over three-decade-old conflict.
– The M23 seized the major cities of Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu the following month.
– Qatar has been mediating between Kinshasa and the M23 for several months. A commitment towards a ceasefire was signed in July.
– In parallel, an agreement was ratified in early December in Washington by the DRC and Rwanda.
– These have failed to end the fighting.
– According to Qatar, MONUSCO will monitor and verify a ceasefire in the city of Uvira.
– Uvira, a strategic city of several hundred thousand inhabitants on the border with Burundi, fell into the hands of the M23 and its Rwandan allies following a swift offensive in early December.
– After about 10 days, the armed group withdrew and allowed the Congolese armed forces to retake Uvira.