US EditionDR Congo, AFC/M23 Group Agree to Facilitate Aid, Release Prisoners Within 10 Days
The deal also calls for operationalizing ceasefire monitors and starting prisoner releases within 10 days, officials said.
- Following talks that concluded April 17 in Montreux, Switzerland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo government and the Alliance Fleuve Congo/March 23 Movement agreed to ease humanitarian aid deliveries and release prisoners within 10 days.
- Since 2021, the AFC/M23, backed by Rwanda, has seized territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region ravaged by more than 30 years of conflict. Rebels captured Goma and Bukavu in early 2025.
- Both parties pledged to protect humanitarian workers and "do their utmost" to avoid aid being diverted or pillaged. They agreed to facilitate rapid, unimpeded access for essential services including food, water, and healthcare.
- Additionally, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding to operationalize the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus , enabling the Ceasefire Oversight and Verification Mechanism to begin monitoring the permanent ceasefire.
- Mediators from the United States, Qatar, Switzerland, Togo, and the African Union Commission supported the talks, with both sides committing to maintain momentum while expediting remaining protocol negotiations under the Doha Framework.
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DR Congo, AFC/M23 group agree to facilitate aid, release prisoners within 10 days
The DR Congo government and the AFC/M23 group announced Sunday they had reached an agreement to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and release prisoners within 10 days. The Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 group has seized large swaths of territory in the eastern part of DR Congo since 2021.
Congo-Kinshasa: Joint Statement on Progress Between DR Congo and AFC/M23 on the Ceasefire Meetings in Switzerland
Document - The following statement was released by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as Alliance Fleuve Congo/March 23 Movement, as well as the State of Qatar, the United States of America, the Republic of Togo (as the African Union mediator), the African Union Commission, and Switzerland, on the meetings held April 13 to April 17 in Montreux, Switzerland, on the implementation of the Doha Framework for a Comprehensi…
After five days of discussions in Montreux, Switzerland, the ninth round of negotiations between Kinshasa and AFC/M23 has been completed. If the final communiqué refers to progress, no agreement has been reached on a key point – according to RFI information: the third protocol of the framework agreement signed in Doha last year, notably on judicial issues and humanitarian access.
What next after AFC/M23-Kinshasa talks in Switzerland?
The ninth round of talks between AFC/M23 and DR Congo, facilitated by Qatar, concluded on April 17 in Switzerland with an agreement on implementing a long-delayed prisoner exchange. ALSO READ: DR Congo-AFC/M23 talks: Details of new deal emerge The five-day discussions focused on humanitarian access, ceasefire oversight, and prisoner release. The parties agreed to execute the prisoner exchange, one of eight key protocols underpinning a final peac…
A joint statement was issued by the Governments of Qatar, the United States, Togo (as the African Union Mediator), Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) Congo River Alliance, on the meetings held from 13 to 17 April in Montreux, Switzerland, on the implementation of the Doha Framework Agreement for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
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