Rwanda-backed M23 staged lightning advance in Congo this year

4/7/2025 6:18

Congo's government and Rwanda-backed

rebels said on Thursday they would send delegations back to

Qatar for peace talks, as Washington pushes for an end to

fighting that could help unlock billions in mining investments.



M23 holds more territory than ever before in eastern Congo

after staging a lightning advance earlier this year. The

fighting, the latest flare-up in a conflict with roots in the

Rwandan genocide three decades ago, has killed thousands of

people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.



U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is trying to

broker a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo that would bring

billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in

tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.



Qatar is hosting a separate but parallel mediation effort

with delegations from the Democratic Republic of Congo

government and M23.



Last week the Rwandan and Congolese foreign ministers signed

a peace accord in Washington, pledging to implement a 2024 deal

that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within

90 days.



The top diplomats also met with Trump, who invited Congolese

President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame

to Washington to sign a package of deals that Massad Boulos,

Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the "Washington

Accord".



Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boulos said the Trump

administration would "love" to hold that meeting at the end of

July. But he also said U.S. officials hope to have a deal in

Doha finalised by then.







SLOW PROGRESS



At a press conference on Thursday, their first since last

week's signing ceremony in Washington, an M23 official said

rebel delegates would return to Doha but accused Kinshasa of not

taking the process seriously.



"Since the signing of the Washington agreement, we have been

contacted three times by the Qatari mediator to resume

dialogue," said Benjamin Mbonimpa, one of the M23 delegates who

has taken part in the Doha dialogue.



The rebels are still insisting on progress on preconditions

such as the release of imprisoned M23 fighters and the reopening

of banks in rebel-held territory, he said.



Congo's presidency said in a statement to Reuters that

government delegates were also returning to Doha.



The latest report by a panel of United Nations experts,

obtained this week by Reuters, said Rwanda has exercised command

and control over M23 during their advance.



Rwanda has denied backing M23 militarily and a government

spokesperson said this week the report "misrepresents Rwanda's

longstanding security concerns" in eastern Congo, notably the

presence of ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 genocide.



Despite remaining hurdles to ending the long-running

conflict, Boulos said on Wednesday he was "optimistic" because

Tshisekedi and Kagame were serious about reaching a deal.