DR Congo, M23 ink 'historic' agreement in Qatar for peace deal

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group have signed a framework agreement for a peace deal aimed at ending fighting.

The agreement was signed on Saturday by representatives from both sides in a ceremony in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Qatar, along with the United States and the African Union, has been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks aimed at ending the conflict in the DRC's mineral-rich east, where the M23 has captured key cities.

M23, in the latest of a string of actions supported by neighbouring Rwanda, seized Goma, eastern DRC's largest city, in January and went on to make gains across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Since taking up arms again at the end of 2021, the M23 armed group has seized swathes of land in eastern DRC with Rwanda's backing, triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

Rwanda has denied backing M23.

At the ceremony, Qatar's chief negotiator, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, called the agreement "historic", adding that mediators would continue efforts to achieve peace on the ground.

Thousands were killed in a lightning offensive by the M23 in January and February, in which the group seized the key provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.

The July deal signed in Doha followed an earlier, separate peace agreement between the DRC and the Rwandan governments, inked in Washington in June.

Qatar has hosted multiple rounds of direct talks between the DRC government and the M23 going back to April, but they have dealt largely with preconditions and confidence-building measures.

In October, they reached a deal on the monitoring of an eventual ceasefire.