DR Congo and M23 Rebels Agree on Peace Roadmap
The deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group includes a mechanism to monitor ceasefire violations, and sets timelines for negotiations under a 2025 US-brokered peace framework.
However, disagreements remain over sanctions, detainees and political reforms. M23, the government of DR Congo, Qatar, the US, the Republic of Togo, the African Union Commission and host Switzerland attended the latest negotiations.
Fighting has continued in eastern DR Congo despite previous ceasefire commitments, with the conflict having killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
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Democratic Republic of Congo authorities have released 15 prisoners and handed them over to the AFC/M23 rebel movement in the first known prisoner transfer under a 2025 peace deal.
The deal is aimed at ending fighting in eastern Congo. The transfer, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and with Uganda’s assistance, follows months of stalled negotiations over a larger exchange involving
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![M23 rebels near Sake, Eastern DR Congo.]()
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice.
It accused its neighbour of violating multiple international treaties by allegedly deploying troops and supporting armed groups in eastern DR Congo. Kinshasa is seeking an order for Rwanda to halt the alleged violations and pay reparations to victims.
Rwanda, which has consistently denied backing the M23 rebel
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After Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized North and South Kivu – the provincial capitals of eastern DR Congo – in early 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump stepped in to revive faltering mediation efforts between the two central African neighbors, proposing a “peace for minerals” deal to secure U.S. interests in the region’s resource-rich east.
Two peace accords were signed in June and December,
Eastern DR Congo has seen repeated waves of violence and displacement. Pictured here, families sheltering at an IDP camp in Ituri province in September 2025.
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