Overview
- M23 delegates have announced their return to Qatar for separate Doha talks, rejecting the Washington Accord’s binding status
- The June 27 accord obliges Rwanda to withdraw its troops from North and South Kivu in three stages and mandates militia disarmament along with screening of ex-combatants
- President Paul Kagame voiced uncertainty over the accord’s durability, warning Kigali will respond if Kinshasa fails to neutralise the FDLR
- A UN panel report accuses Rwanda of exercising command and control over M23 during its advance, a claim Kigali denies by citing longstanding security concerns
- More than 7 million Congolese remain internally displaced and over 27 million face food insecurity during the ongoing conflict