The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo will deploy its first team in the coming days to monitor a ceasefire between the Congolese government and the AFC/M23 rebel group, Qatar’s foreign ministry announced on Monday following talks in Doha.
The team will be sent to Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Congo captured by AFC/M23 fighters in December and recently reclaimed by government forces and allied militias after the rebels announced their withdrawal.
Qatar described the announcement as a sign of progress in Doha-mediated talks, while the United States is hosting separate discussions between Congo and Rwanda, which the UN and Western powers accuse of backing AFC/M23—a claim Rwanda denies.
The Qatari foreign ministry said on Monday that Congo and M23 had agreed on detailed terms of reference for the ceasefire monitoring mechanism created under an agreement reached in October, and reaffirmed their commitments under the broader peace deal framework signed in November.
The latest push to activate ceasefire monitoring comes amid persistent fighting in the east.
Over the weekend explosive‑laden drones targeted the airport serving the northeastern Congolese city of Kisangani, Congolese authorities said.
If confirmed to be an AFC/M23 operation, it would be the furthest west the group has struck as part of its offensive against the government in Kinshasa.
Source: Dunya News
