Russia today - 9/2/2025 11:20:18 AM - GMT (+2 )

The Congo River Alliance, which includes M23 fighters, claims state forces are attacking South Kivu in defiance of ceasefire efforts
A coalition of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has accused the government of breaching agreements intended to end the decades-old brutal conflict in the Central African country’s eastern provinces.
Corneille Nangaa, political coordinator of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes the M23 rebel group, said at a press conference on Monday that Congolese forces and their allies were carrying out attacks in South Kivu despite a pledge to cease hostilities.
“We are obliged to inform the Congolese people and the international community of the successive violations of the ceasefire, which are hindering the principle agreement,” Nangaa told journalists at the event held at a hotel in Goma, one of the major Congolese cities seized by the M23 earlier this year.
Regional and international actors have pushed for a ceasefire since M23 rebels intensified their offensive earlier this year in Congo’s mineral-rich east. The militants have captured key mining hubs, including North Kivu capital, Goma, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, reportedly killing thousands.
In June, the DR Congo signed a US-brokered agreement with Rwanda, which Kinshasa accuses of arming the rebels – a claim Kigali denies. US President Donald Trump has said the pact, including calls for a joint security mechanism, gives Washington rights to local mineral wealth.
Congolese officials and the rebels also signed a declaration in Doha in July outlining a timeline for peace after months of Qatar-mediated talks. The parties agreed to launch negotiations on August 8 and finalize a peace deal by August 18. However, the deadline passed without progress, with each side accusing the other of violations. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said last week that Congolese officials and representatives of the armed group had resumed negotiations in Doha.
On Monday, Nangaa called on Qatari mediators, the African Union, and the UN to pressure Kinshasa to honor its commitments, warning of an “appropriate response” to any renewed attacks by state forces.
On Saturday, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi hailed talks in Washington and Doha as efforts to ensure that “foreign negative forces finally and definitively leave” his country in peace.
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