GOMA, DR Congo, Aug. 24 — A team tasked with verifying ceasefire violations between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the rebel March 23 Movement (M23) arrived Monday in Minembwe in the eastern province of South Kivu, as fighting continued in several parts of the region.
The team arrived aboard two helicopters of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
It includes military experts from member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), as well as representatives of the DRC government and the M23, with support from MONUSCO.
The mission marks the first field operation of the ceasefire verification mechanism and is tasked with documenting and reporting possible violations of the truce.
Its deployment came two days after the DRC government and the M23 announced that they had agreed on a roadmap for a peace initiative.
In a joint statement issued Saturday, the two sides welcomed progress in operationalizing an expanded joint verification mechanism, whose first ceasefire verification mission was scheduled for Aug. 24 in Minembwe.
Tensions, however, remain high on the ground in South Kivu. In recent weeks, clashes have continued between the M23 and government forces and their allies in several areas around Minembwe.
On Monday, the DRC government issued a statement accusing the M23 of serious human rights violations in areas under its control.
According to the statement, more than 300 people were killed in summary executions, massacres and bombings in June and July.
Since January 2025, the M23 has intensified offensives in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu. Under Qatar’s mediation, the DRC government and the M23 signed a declaration of principles in Doha in July and a framework agreement in November 2025, committing themselves to continued negotiations toward a comprehensive peace settlement. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
