Rwandan -backed M23 rebels declared a ceasefire at DRC | Conflict news

The M23 armed group said it would stop its progress through the Congo for humanitarian reasons.

Rwanda -backed forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced that they will stop their progress in the east of the country for humanitarian reasons.

The AFC/M23 rebel coalition announced late on Monday that it will carry out one -sided shooting on Tuesday. The group, backed by thousands of neighboring Rwanda, Juma, the main city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, seized last week, when the United Nations estimated that 900 people were killed, while hundreds of thousands were displaced.

Calls were escalated to create a humanitarian corridor to allow people to escape fighting. However, there was no immediate comment from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Kinshasa on the declaration, and it is not clear whether the army’s army would respect the ceasefire.

The rebels said in a statement published on X.

An official press release from the Kong/M23 alliance on February 3, 2025 ⬇ pic.twitter.com/tcsj4g9noe

Lawrence Canuka (@lawrencekanyuka) February 3, 2025

After Guma, the city with a population of two million people and its home to the huge mineral wealth, took the rebels in recent days towards Bocafo, another regional center in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, after they previously announced their goal in sweeping through the capital.

However, in their statement, they announced that they would not attack the regional city.

“It must be clarified that we have no intention to pick up Bukavo or other areas. However, we repeat our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population.

The United Nations said on Monday that at least 900 bodies from the streets of Goma were recovered, but the actual death toll is much higher, with those who have already been transferred to the morgue and bodies that are still scattered in the city.

Local authorities also calculated nearly 2,900 people last week, according to reports.

peace talks?

The announcement of the cessation of the fighting came before a regional summit on the weekend, which is expected to be attended by the Presidents of the Congo and Rwanda.

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Chesikdi and Rwandan Paul Kagame had previously failed to attend talks in an attempt to mediate peace. However, Kenya, who holds the rotating presidency of the bloc of East Africa, suggested that the husband appear.

On Monday, the foreign ministers urged the parties in the struggle to return to the negotiations and called for “a fast, safe, and irreversible passage of humanitarian relief for civilians.”

The fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is associated with contracts of ethnic conflict. M23 says he is defending the ethnic Tutsi, who fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1994 collective genocide in Rwanda.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo accuses Rwanda and the rebels of the country’s resources, which include wide deposits of rare land.

The conflict has long left many people all over the region, in urgent need of humanitarian aid.