DR Congo and M23 Agree Roadmap for Peace Talks as Fighting Continues in the East

The Democratic Republic of the Congo and an M23-led rebel alliance have agreed on a roadmap for peace talks aimed at ending the fighting in the country's east. A joint statement said the parties had set out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations under a framework agreement signed in Doha in November. The announcement comes as violence continues on the ground, including in South Kivu province.

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The roadmap followed five days of talks in Switzerland from 17 to 21 August, with representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission also involved. The two sides said they had agreed on a standardised method for reporting ceasefire violations and would create a mechanism to address problems in implementing the Doha agreement. A ceasefire verification mission is due to arrive on Monday in Minembwe, in eastern South Kivu.

The peace process has already included a prisoner transfer earlier this month, when the DRC handed over 15 prisoners to the Congo River Alliance and M23. That transfer was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Even so, the security situation remains fragile, and the latest statement was issued while fighting continued in the east.

An AFC/M23 spokesman also alleged that coalition forces had carried out air raids using kamikaze drones against densely populated areas in Minembwe on Saturday, but that claim could not be independently verified. The agreement matters because the conflict in eastern DRC has killed thousands and displaced millions, while repeated ceasefire failures have made negotiations difficult to sustain. The use of drones has added a new layer of concern for civilians and for monitors trying to track violations.

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The United Nations warned in July that drone use by the warring sides was further destabilising North and South Kivu provinces. The conflict in the east reignited in 2021 when M23 resumed its offensive. Since then, the group has seized large areas of territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which were captured in early 2025.

The wider crisis has also been complicated by an Ebola outbreak in the region, which has killed about 2,500 people since May, according to the supplied report. Those overlapping pressures have made the peace track more urgent, but also more difficult to implement. What remains unclear is whether the new roadmap will hold once verification teams begin work in Minembwe and whether the parties can reduce violations on the ground.

It is also not yet clear how quickly the mechanism for handling disputes under the Doha framework will become operational. The next key test will be whether the ceasefire monitoring process can function alongside continued allegations of attacks and counterattacks.

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