Africa-Press. Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday, following talks hosted in Doha, that the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will send its first team to monitor the ceasefire between the Congolese government and the Alliance of Forces for Change/March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the coming days.
Qatar said the team will be deployed to the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo. The city was seized by M23 fighters in December during a swift offensive, before being recaptured last month by Congolese forces and allied militias, restoring government control after the rebels announced their withdrawal.
The announcement, made on Monday evening, signals progress in the direct talks sponsored by Doha between Congo and the M23 rebels, who last year captured unprecedented swathes of territory in the country’s east.
Separately, the United States is hosting talks between Congo and Rwanda, which the United Nations and Western powers say supports the M23 movement—an allegation Kigali denies.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said Congo and the M23 have agreed on detailed terms of reference for the ceasefire monitoring mechanism established under an agreement reached in October, and reaffirmed their commitments under a broader peace framework signed in November.
The move to activate ceasefire monitoring comes amid continued fighting in the east. Congolese authorities said explosive-laden drones targeted Kisangani airport in northeastern Congo over the weekend.
If confirmed to have been carried out by the M23, the attack would mark the westernmost target struck by the group as part of its offensive against the government in Kinshasa.
