Ceasefire monitoring mission deployed in eastern DR Congo
In South Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first mission to verify ceasefire violations between the government army and the Rwanda-backed armed group AFC/M23 has been deployed. On Monday, the mission was transported by UN helicopters to Minembwe, where intense clashes have continued in recent months, France 24 reports.
Mission composition and routes
The monitoring mechanism includes representatives of the DR Congo government, AFC/M23, and observers from member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. In addition to Minembwe, the mission is to visit the lakeside city of Uvira, from which AFC/M23 withdrew in January, as well as the Kalehe area, where fighting has been reported in recent weeks.
The deployment took place the day after the DR Congo government and AFC/M23 agreed on a roadmap for peace talks following negotiations in Switzerland. Swiss authorities also said that the sides recognized the importance of a standardized way of recording claims of ceasefire violations. At the time of the report, neither the DR Congo authorities nor AFC/M23 had commented on the deployment of the mission.
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Ceasefire and mutual accusations
In July 2025, the Congolese government and AFC/M23 signed ceasefire commitments in Doha. In December of the same year, DR Congo and Rwanda formalized a US-mediated peace agreement in Washington. At the same time, fighting on the ground continued.
New closed-door talks were held from August 17 to 21 with the participation of representatives of the United States, Qatar, Switzerland, the African Union Commission, and Togo as the African Union mediator. The sides also agreed to establish a mechanism to assess progress and resolve problems with fulfilling commitments under the Doha Framework Agreement.
On August 24, the DR Congo government accused M23 of alleged crimes and serious human rights violations in territories controlled by the group and said that the group had killed more than 300 people in June and July. At the same time, an AFC/M23 representative on social media platform X accused government forces of an artillery attack on a village near Minembwe. Both sides regularly make mutual accusations of ceasefire violations, which often cannot be independently verified.
