The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has endorsed the principle of a ceasefire in its restive eastern region, calling for an immediate and strict freeze on all military positions. The announcement, made by the presidency on Friday, follows a renewed push for peace led by Angola and the African Union, though no implementation date was provided.
The acceptance comes after Angola, acting as a key mediator, circulated a formal ceasefire proposal earlier in the week, proposing a truce to begin on February 18. The proposal requires approval from both the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which has not yet issued an official response. For the first time in the current negotiation process, the DRC government has laid out specific implementation terms, demanding an end to all military reinforcements, rotations, and offensive resupply operations, alongside a cessation of external support to armed groups.
These diplomatic efforts intensify as the United Nations prepares to deploy peacekeepers to monitor any future agreement. The UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), which has approximately 7,000 personnel, plans its first aerial reconnaissance mission in the border town of Uvira in the coming days. Uvira, seized by M23 in December before a U.S.-facilitated withdrawal, is near the Burundian border. The UN’s involvement signals a new enforcement dimension, as previous ceasefires have consistently collapsed.
The conflict in the resource-rich eastern DRC has persisted for three decades, involving dozens of armed groups. Violence acutely escalated after M23’s resurgence in 2021, including the capture of the major cities of Goma and Bukavu in 2023 and 2024, which displaced hundreds of thousands. Despite this, the region has seen a flurry of parallel diplomatic initiatives. Qatar has mediated between Kinshasa and M23 for months, resulting in a July commitment toward a ceasefire. Separately, a U.S.-brokered agreement between the DRC and Rwanda was formalised in Washington in December. However, none of these accords have halted fighting on the ground.
The African Union has now centralised mediation under Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, who has incorporated Angolan President Joao Lourenco into the process. This restructuring follows the collapse of an earlier Angolan-led initiative late last year, which was intended to host a summit between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents.
The DRC’s formal acceptance of a ceasefire framework marks a significant, though tentative, step. Its success hinges on the M23’s agreement and the credible monitoring capacity of international actors like the UN. With the history of broken truces, the immediate focus will be on whether the February 18 proposal gains traction and if the demanded “strict and immediate freezing of positions” can be verified, offering a potential, albeit fragile, respite for civilians in the conflict zone.
