BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Democratic Republic Of Congo
Representatives from the Congolese government and the M23/AFC (Mouvement of 23rd March/Alliance of the Congo River) rebel groups have agreed on halting the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This was written in a statement released by both parties Wednesday night.
While brutal fighting between the Congolese armed forces and the Rwandan-backed rebels has ravaged North and South Kivu provinces since January and previous negotiations yielded few results, the announcement has been seen as a first positive step towards an end to the violence.
The announcement was published by the AFC (Alliance Fleuve Congo) rebel movement, which supports the M23 group, on X.
And while both sides affirmed that the talks in Doha were “frank and constructive”, some doubts remain over the progress of the negotiations, which officials described as slow.
According to the Congolese authorities, the war in eastern DRC has displaced hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and killed at least 7,000 people since January.
