DAKAR – On Saturday, Congo and rebels backed by Rwanda inked a declaration of principles in Qatar aimed at resolving the longstanding conflict in eastern Congo. This agreement pledges them to an ongoing ceasefire and outlines plans for signing a comprehensive peace deal within a month.
The final peace agreement is scheduled to be signed by August 18. As noted by the Associated Press, this agreement will be in harmony with the Peace Agreement between Congo and Rwanda, which was facilitated by the U.S. in June.
The declaration addresses key elements of the peace deal signed by Congo and Rwanda on June 27. It marks the first direct commitment from both parties since the rebels captured two significant cities in eastern Congo in a significant strategic move.
Backed by neighboring Rwanda, the M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east. With 7 million people displaced in Congo, the U.N. has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”
It was not immediately clear what the specific terms of a final peace agreement would be and what concessions would be made. M23 had been pushing for the release of its members held by Congo’s army, many of them facing the death sentence. Congo had requested the withdrawal of the rebels from seized territories.
A key issue has been whether Rwanda will pull their support for the rebels, including the thousands of troops that the United Nations experts said are in eastern Congo.
When Rwanda and Congo signed the peace deal in Washington, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Rwanda agreed to lift its “defensive measures” — suggesting a reference to its troops eastern Congo — once Congo neutralizes an armed group whose members Kigali accuses of carrying out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
Analysts have say it is going to be difficult for the M23 rebels to withdraw from the eastern Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu seized earlier this year and that it would depend on concessions Congolese authorities agree to make.
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