The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels signed a new peace framework on Saturday aimed at ending the conflict that has ravaged eastern Congo.
Since the initial agreement was signed in July, both sides have accused the other of violating its terms, and fighting has continued.
The DRC government said in a statement that the new framework aims to “create the conditions for real and measurable change for people in the shortest possible time.”
But the M23 stressed that the agreement is not a final peace agreement, but a framework outlining the measures needed to reach it.
“There will be no change in the situation on the ground nor any activity until the measures are debated, negotiated and discussed one by one and a final peace agreement is reached,” Benjamin Mbonyampa, head of the M23 delegation, said in a video posted on Twitter.
What is included in the new agreement?
The framework agreement consists of eight chapters.
Two of them – relating to the release of prisoners and the creation of a ceasefire monitoring body – were previously signed in September and October.
The other six chapters cover humanitarian access, restoring state control in rebel-held areas and resettlement of refugees, among other things.
The Congolese government said that these six chapters are to be negotiated in the next two weeks.
Mediators accept slow progress
The agreement was signed in Qatar, a country that along with the United States acted as mediators between the Congolese government and M23 rebels.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Africa, Massad Boulos, said the agreement was “a starting point”.
“Yes, people were hoping to see maybe some immediate results on the ground, but it’s a process… It’s not a light switch that you just turn on and off,” he told reporters after the signing in Doha.
Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi said Saturday’s agreement was a step closer to lasting peace.
“Peace cannot be imposed by force, but is built through trust, mutual respect and sincere commitment,” he said.
Battle for control in eastern Congo
Backed by Rwanda, the M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups that have been fighting for control of Congo’s mineral-rich east for more than a decade.
Thousands of people were killed in the M23 lightning strike in January and February, while more than 7 million have been displaced in the decades-long fighting, which the United Nations has described as “one of the longest, most complex, grave humanitarian crises on Earth.”
The two sides reached several agreements in 2025 but they were largely confidence-building exercises that set the preconditions for future talks.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko