DRC and M23 rebels agree on roadmap for peace talks

August 23, 2026 at 01:03 PM2 min

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo and an M23-led rebel alliance agreed on a roadmap for peace talks, according to a joint statement on Saturday. The roadmap sets out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations under a framework agreement signed in Doha in November. The agreement follows five days of talks in Switzerland from August 17 to 21, even as fighting continues in the country's east.

Key Facts

The roadmap was developed after five days of talks in Switzerland from August 17 to 21 that included representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission.
A ceasefire verification mission is due to arrive on Monday in Minembwe, an eastern region in South Kivu province.
Earlier this month, the DRC handed over 15 prisoners to the Congo River Alliance (AFC) and M23 in a transfer facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The fighting has killed thousands and displaced an estimated 5.3 million people in the region.
An Ebola outbreak in the region has compounded the crisis, with some 2,500 people having died from the virus since May.

Roadmap Details

The joint statement said the parties had developed a 'roadmap setting out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations' under a framework agreement signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, in November. The two sides said they had agreed on 'a standardised method for reporting' ceasefire violations and would set up a mechanism to address problems implementing the Doha agreement. A ceasefire verification mission is due to arrive on Monday in Minembwe, an eastern region in South Kivu province.

Continued Fighting

On Saturday, an AFC/M23 spokesman, Lawrence Kanyuka, claimed that DRC 'coalition forces' had launched air raids using kamikaze drones against densely populated areas in the Minembwe region earlier that day. Kanyuka said the bombings caused civilian casualties and significant damage to civilian infrastructure in a post on X. Al Jazeera could not immediately verify the claim. The United Nations warned in July that the security situation in the provinces of North and South Kivu has been further destabilised by the growing use of drones by the warring sides.

Conflict Background

The conflict in the eastern DRC reignited in 2021, when M23 restarted its offensive there. The armed group has since seized swathes of territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were captured in early 2025. 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 UN and Western governments have accused Rwanda of backing M23, which is led by ethnic Tutsis, with troops and weapons, but Kigali denies the allegation.