Goma, May 6 A new round of dialogue between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group began on Sunday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, local media reported has reported.
According to Radio Okapi on Monday, a UN-supported outlet, representatives from both the DRC government and the M23 arrived in Doha over the weekend at the invitation of Qatari mediators.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the current talks remain at a preliminary stage, according to Xinhua news agency.
The M23 confirmed the arrival of their delegation in Doha to Xinhua, but the Congolese government has not yet issued a formal response. On April 23, the DRC government released a statement confirming that it had reached a consensus with the M23 on working together toward a truce that would contribute to the establishment of an effective ceasefire.
On Monday, Massad Boulos, senior advisor for Africa at the US State Department, announced on the social media platform X that the DRC and Rwanda had submitted a draft peace agreement.
"I welcome the draft text on a peace proposal received from both DRC and Rwanda. This is an important step toward fulfilling the commitments made in the Declaration of Principles, and I count on their continued commitment to achieving peace," said Boulos.
On April 25, the DRC and Rwanda signed a Declaration of Principles in Washington. The two sides agreed to produce a draft comprehensive peace agreement by May 2, underlining the urgency of translating these principles into concrete commitments.
The eastern DRC has been mired in decades of conflict, particularly offensives by the M23, a rebellion Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting. Rwanda, for its part, denies any ties to the rebel group, instead accusing the Congolese army of collaborating with remnants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a group implicated in the 1994 genocide.
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