Representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have initialed a peace agreement aimed at ending the long-running conflict in eastern DRC, with the formal signing scheduled for June 27, according to a joint statement released on Wednesday.
Building on a declaration of principles agreed upon in April, the accord includes commitments to respect territorial integrity and a ban on hostilities in eastern DRC. The statement was issued jointly by the two countries, with the United States and Qatar serving as mediators in the negotiations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to witness the signing ceremony in Washington later this month. The agreement was reached following three days of “constructive dialogue” between officials from both nations in the US capital, addressing political, security, and economic concerns.
Key provisions of the deal include the disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups operating in the region.
The M23 rebel group, which US and UN experts accuse of receiving military support from Rwanda, launched a swift offensive earlier this year in eastern DRC, capturing the cities of Goma and Bukavu. The group has since established governing structures in territories under its control, and thousands of people have lost their lives in the violence.
The resource-rich eastern DRC, which shares a border with Rwanda, has been mired in conflict for over 30 years, with tensions escalating sharply following M23’s renewed offensive in late 2021.
While Rwanda denies providing military backing to M23, it cites ongoing security threats posed by armed groups in eastern DRC, particularly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group formed by ethnic Hutus responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi minority.
