DRC and M23 rebels agree on roadmap for peace in eastern Congo

Following talks in Switzerland earlier this week, the parties have committed to "pursue negotiations towards comprehensive peace", mediators said in a joint statement released on Saturday night.

They staked out a roadmap "setting out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations" and agreed to establish a mechanism to address problems implementing the peace deal they signed late last year in Qatar, the statement said.

They also affirmed "the importance of a standardised method for reporting allegations of ceasefire violations".

A ceasefire verification mission is due to arrive in Minembwe, in South Kivu province in eastern DRC, on Monday. The highland region has seen fierce fighting in recent months as militias allied with M23 and the DRC government battle for control.

It will be the first formal inspection since the peace deal was signed in November 2025, and the first deployment of the shared body meant to oversee it.

Slow peace process

The latest negotiations took place in Switzerland from 17-21 August, mediated by the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission.

The agreement the two sides signed in Doha last year aimed to lay the foundations for a comprehensive peace deal, setting out commitments on prisoner exchanges, humanitarian access and restoring state authority.

But fighting has continued and disagreements remain over issues including territorial control and the transfer of detainees.

In one of the first concrete steps in implementing the agreement, earlier this month Democratic Republic of Congo authorities released 15 prisoners and handed them over to M23 and its political wing, the AFC.

DR Congo hands first prisoners back to M23 rebels under peace deal

Decades of conflict

For decades, armed groups have battled for control of eastern DRC and its valuable natural resources, which include minerals critical to the world's electronics industry.

The conflict has intensified in the past five years as M23 launched a new offensive. The rebels succeeded in seizing swathes of territory last year, including Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

The fighting has killed thousands of people and displaced millions. 

The DRC, the United Nations and several Western governments have accused Rwanda of backing M23 with troops and weapons, but Kigali denies the allegation. 

Goma's residents reflect on life a year after DR Congo city fell to M23 rebels

In turn, Rwanda says an armed group active in the eastern DRC, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – which is linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people – constitutes a major security threat, and accuses the Congolese government of failing to dismantle it.

The US brokered a separate peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda last year. The DRC agreed to disband the FDLR, while Rwanda promised to withdraw its forces and end its alleged support for M23.

Yet Washington accuses Rwanda of maintaining troops in eastern DRC and has imposed sanctions on the Rwandan army, as well as companies accused of trafficking minerals from areas controlled by M23 rebels.