East Congo peace deal shakes as fresh clashes break regional quiet
New fighting erupts between M23 rebels and government forces in eastern Congo just days after Rwanda-Congo diplomatic talks. Both sides point fingers while regional leaders rush to save peace deal
Fresh gun-fire broke out in east Congo yesterday as the M23 rebels and Congolese army traded blame for breaking the regions un-easy peace; Both sides confirmed renewed clashes near Goma
The long-standing dispute — which started bout 2 years ago when M23 launched its campaign in the mineral-rich region has seen many ups-and-downs. UN experts found that between 3‚000-4‚000 Rwandan troops were helping rebels (despite Rwandaʼs firm denial of any involvement)
Last week Congolese and Rwandan foreign-affairs chiefs met to work-out how to remove Rwandan soldiers from the area. The high-level talks didnt stop violence: fighting started again just 8 days after their meet-up
We are still following the March 2023 ceasefire agreement
The situation might change soon as President Felix Tshisekedi and President Paul Kagame plan their first face-to-face talk in over a year. The meet-up set for Dec 15th in Angola could be a game-changer for the region
The US showed its worry bout a month ago when rebels kept breaking cease-fire rules. Now with fresh fighting the whole peace-process seems to be hanging by a thread
