The UN is set to deploy a mission to eastern DRC to help support and monitor a ceasefire that has repeatedly been violated despite multiple peace agreements, according to media citing Qatari mediation efforts.
The move follows talks in Doha between representatives of the M23 armed group and envoys from Kinshasa. Observers from the US, the African Union, and the UN mission in DRC were present at the meeting.
According to a statement, the two sides agreed on arrangements to establish a monitoring mechanism aimed at enforcing what was described as a “permanent” ceasefire.
Previous agreements have failed to halt fighting in the conflict scarred east, where violence has persisted for more than three decades. Earlier mediation efforts had already included a role for the UN mission, MONUSCO, as part of initiatives launched in recent months.
The M23 seized the major eastern cities of Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu a month later. Qatar has been mediating between Kinshasa and the group for several months, with a ceasefire commitment signed in July.
Separately, DRC and Rwanda ratified an agreement in Washington in early December, but this too failed to stop hostilities.
Fresh clashes have been reported in recent days near Minembwe in South Kivu province, according to local sources.
Media reports say MONUSCO will be tasked with monitoring and verifying a ceasefire in the strategic city of Uvira, though no further operational details have been disclosed. Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand people near the Burundi border, briefly fell under the control of M23 and allied groups during a rapid offensive in early December, before Congolese forces retook it days later.