DR Congo, Rwanda to sign peace accord on June 27

DR Congo, Rwanda to sign peace accord on June 27. [Courtesy]

Representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have initialed a peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC -- a document to be formally signed on June 27, a joint statement said Wednesday.

The text, which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April, "includes provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities" in eastern DRC, according to the statement released by the two nations, as well as the United States and Qatar, which acted as mediators.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will witness the signing in Washington later this month, the statement said.

The deal was reached during three days of "constructive dialogue regarding political, security, and economic interests" between DRC and Rwandan officials in the US capital, it said.

The text also includes provisions on "disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups."

The anti-government M23 armed group -- which US and UN experts say receives military backing from Kigali -- launched a lightning offensive at the start of the year in eastern DR Congo.

It took control of Goma in late January, followed by the city of Bukavu, and has set up governing structures in the regions under its control. Thousands of people have been killed.

The resource-rich eastern DRC, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since M23 went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.

Rwanda had said last month that a definitive peace agreement to end the crisis with its neighbor would be signed in mid-June in Washington.

Kigali denies it offers any military support to the M23 but says its security has long been threatened by armed groups in eastern DRC, notably the FDLR, a group created by ethnic Hutus who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.