The Democratic Republic of the Congo and an M23-led rebel alliance have agreed on a roadmap setting out sequenced steps and timelines for peace negotiations, according to a joint statement issued on Saturday. The roadmap operates under a framework agreement signed in Doha in November.
The agreement comes as fighting continues in eastern DRC. The parties also agreed on a standardised method for reporting ceasefire violations and a mechanism to address problems in implementing the Doha agreement.
What the talks produced
The roadmap followed five days of negotiations in Switzerland from August 17 to August 21. Representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission also took part.
A ceasefire verification mission is due to arrive on Monday in Minembwe, in South Kivu province. Earlier this month, the DRC transferred 15 prisoners to the Congo River Alliance and M23 in a handover facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Fighting continues despite the process
The security situation remains fragile. Lawrence Kanyuka, an AFC/M23 spokesman, said DRC coalition forces had carried out air raids with kamikaze drones against densely populated areas in Minembwe on Saturday, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. The claim could not be immediately verified.
The United Nations warned in July that the growing use of drones by the warring sides had further destabilised security in North and South Kivu. An Ebola outbreak has also compounded the crisis, with about 2,500 people reported to have died from the virus since May.
Why the agreement matters
M23 restarted its offensive in eastern DRC in 2021 and has since seized large areas, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were captured in early 2025. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced an estimated 5.3 million people in the region.
The conflict has roots in the 1994 genocide by extremist Hutus against Tutsis in Rwanda and the collapse of the Mobutu Sese Seko government in what was then Zaire. The DRC, the United Nations and Western governments accuse Rwanda of backing M23 with troops and weapons; Kigali denies that allegation and accuses Kinshasa of supporting Hutu militias including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. The DRC denies that claim.
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