A draft peace agreement between Congo’s government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels aims to restore state control over rebel-held territories.
The Qatar-proposed deal outlines a three-phase process for peace and will be discussed under mediation in Doha in the coming days.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prévot, said President Felix Tshisekedi finds the draft unsatisfactory, signalling further intense negotiations in Doha.
“A new phase of discussions will open soon. President Tshisekedi confirmed the proposed text is not satisfactory,” Prévot told reporters in Kinshasa.
M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa declined to comment on the draft, focusing instead on implementing the Doha Declaration’s ceasefire and prisoner release provisions.
Congo has suffered decades of conflict involving over 100 armed groups, causing millions of deaths since the 1990s, and ongoing battles remain devastatingly intense.
Earlier this year, M23 captured major eastern cities including Goma and Bukavu, consolidating control through appointments of loyalists to key administrative posts.
The draft deal, confirmed by M23 to The Associated Press, follows a U.S.-backed peace initiative launched last month in Washington with Rwanda’s participation.
Both the Congolese government and M23 have accused each other of ceasefire violations, after the peace deadline set for Monday lapsed without resolution.
M23’s advances displaced seven million people, leaving bodies in streets and prompting the United Nations to call the situation one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises.
The coming discussions in Doha will test the fragile prospects for peace amid escalating violence, desperate civilians, and decades of deep-rooted political instability.