Rwandan-backed group declares ceasefire in DRC's war-torn east

A senior member of the M23 armed group uses a loudspeaker to address residents on a street in Goma on February 1, 2025. [AFP]

Rwandan-backed armed group M23 announced a humanitarian "ceasefire" from Tuesday in DR Congo's perennially explosive east, days before a planned crisis meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Last week, the M23 and Rwandan troops seized Goma -- the provincial capital of North Kivu, a mineral-rich region that has been blighted by war for over three decades.