Particle.news
Get it on Google Play
Download on the App Store
11 ARTICLES
·
2w ago

DRC and M23 Agree Roadmap as First Ceasefire Monitors Deploy to Minembwe

The deployment will test whether an international monitoring team can make the Doha Framework move from promise to enforceable practice.

A suspected Burundian military vehicle destroyed during renewed clashes between Alliance Fleuve Congo AFC/M23 and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), sits along the National Road No. 5 in Luvungi, a settlement north of Uvira; South Kivu province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo December 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
Image
Image
The conflict has seen M23 take control of parts of eastern DRC since 2025, and repeated attempts to negotiate an end to the fighting have been unsuccessful

Overview

  • Representatives of the DRC and the M23/AFC agreed a sequenced roadmap after five days of talks in Switzerland that sets timelines and a mechanism to address problems implementing the Doha Framework.
  • The Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus, known as EJVM+, was operationalized and began its first field verification mission in Minembwe on August 24 with logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO.
  • As an early implementation step, Congolese authorities transferred 15 detainees to AFC/M23 earlier in August under ICRC supervision.
  • Violence continues on the ground with both sides trading accusations of abuses—Kinshasa says M23 killed more than 300 people in June and July while M23 blames government attacks—claims that international monitors must now verify.
  • Key issues remain unresolved and could derail the process, including control of territory, sanctions, further detainee releases, the timing of political and security reforms, and persistent distrust over Rwanda’s role, all against a backdrop of mass displacement and an Ebola outbreak.