The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia signed a new framework for peace on Saturday at a ceremony in Qatar aimed at ending the fighting that has devastated eastern DRC.
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 DRC's mineral-rich east, where the M23 has captured key cities.
DRC and M23 signed a ceasefire deal and an earlier framework in the Gulf emirate in July but, despite the agreement, reports emerged of violations and both sides stand accused of breaking the truce.
The signing of the new deal, the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, was completed at a ceremony attended by officials from the warring parties, as well as the US and Qatar.
In a statement to French press agency AFP, Benjamin Mbonimpa, representing the M23 delegation in Doha said the agreement contained "no binding clauses" and would not change "the situation on the ground".
The text contains eight chapters devoted to the "root causes of the conflict", to be negotiated "before reaching a comprehensive peace agreement," he said, in the statement.
“Major milestone"
US President Donald Trump's envoy to Africa, Massad Boulos, told AFP implementing the deal was "the most important aspect" and this was why "so many mechanisms have been put in place to address different elements of the implementation".
"We discussed eight areas of concern, and eight topics the two parties have agreed upon," Boulos said.
"They've signed it today, and this is a major milestone, but you can look at it as a launching pad for the entire process," he added.
The eight protocols, two of which have already been signed and cover a ceasefire-monitoring mechanism, also address humanitarian access, the return of displaced people and protection of the judiciary.
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.
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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 Congolese and Rwandan governments inked in Washington in June.
Kinshasa has demanded the withdrawal of Rwandan troops from its soil.
But Kigali says withdrawal is conditional on the neutralisation of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group formed by former Rwandan genocide leaders who have taken refuge in the DRC.
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.
(With newswires)
