UN mission due in DR Congo to help implement ceasefire: Qatar

The UN will soon send a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east to help enforce a ceasefire that has been breached despite peace agreements, mediator Qatar said Tuesday.

The announcement came a day after a meeting in Doha between representatives of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group and envoys from Kinshasa.

Officials from the United States, the African Union and the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) were present as observers. 

At the meeting, the two sides agreed on the arrangements for setting up a monitoring mechanism for a "permanent" ceasefire, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement. 

An intervention by MONUSCO was factored into agreements that concluded in recent months aimed at ending the conflict.

The M23 seized the major cities of Goma in January 2025 and Bukavu the following month.

Qatar has been mediating between Kinshasa and the M23 for several months. A commitment towards a ceasefire was signed in July.

An agreement was also ratified in early December in Washington by the DRC and Rwanda. These have failed to end the fighting. 

In recent days, there have been clashes near the town of Minembwe in South Kivu province, according to local sources. 

According to Qatar, MONUSCO will monitor and verify a ceasefire in the city of Uvira.

Uvira, a strategic city of several hundred thousand inhabitants on the border with Burundi, fell into the hands of the M23 and its Rwandan allies following a swift offensive in early December.

After about 10 days, the armed group withdrew and allowed the Congolese armed forces to retake Uvira.

In a statement, MONUSCO said it had strengthened internal preparedness to support the ceasefire process, adding that it would be transparent about the nature of its support.