The DR Congo army and the M23 rebels on Monday, December 11, agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, according to a statement from the White House. The two parties have had a fragile ceasefire since November 2022 which was broken on October 1 as hostilities renewed, threatening to end regional peace efforts. In a statement issued late Monday, the National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States “welcomes the ceasefire committed to by the parties to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.” She said the ceasefire began at midday on Monday and was “a follow-up to the confidence building measures” secured during Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines’ travel on November 19-20 to the DR Congo and Rwanda, and her subsequent engagements with Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame. ALSO READ: Kagame, US intelligence chief discuss tensions in eastern DR Congo Watson said on Monday “armed forces and non-state armed groups ceased fighting to facilitate the withdrawal of forces occupying the locality of Mushaki and the RP1030 road (Kirolwire-Kitchanga).” Neither the Congolese government nor the rebels have commented on the development She added Rwanda and DR Congo had “expressed support for the U.S. proposal of a 72-hour ceasefire to advance the implementation of the confidence building measures to protect civilians and de-escalate tensions in eastern [DR Congo].” “The U.S. Government will use its intelligence and diplomatic resources to monitor the activities by armed forces and non-state armed groups during the ceasefire,” Watson said, adding that her country supports the resumption of the Nairobi and Luanda processes, which seek to address the current and historic factors perpetuating this longstanding crisis. ALSO READ: ‘Premature departure’ of EAC force from DR Congo ‘undermines’ peace efforts The ceasefire is reached when the East African Regional Force is withdrawing its troops from eastern DR Congo after the Congolese government refused to renew its mandate – a development seen as undermining regional peace efforts. It is now not clear what will become of the region force, which was supposed to facilitate the imementation of the two-track peace processes. DR Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels in the country’s east – allegations Kigali dismisses, saying the rebellion is an internal Congolese issue. Rwanda on the other hand, accuses the Congolese army of integrating and cooperating with the genocidal FDLR militia, which has remained a thorn in her securiry for the past three decades. The FDLR was created by remnants of Interahamwe militia and the former Rwandan army responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and has launched attack on Rwanda over the last two decades. A 2019 attack by one of its factions killed 14 civilians in Musanze District. ALSO READ: DR Congo crisis: A sequence of provocations against Rwanda Congolese warplanes have violated Rwanda’s airspace at least three times between November 2022 and January 2023, in addition to rocket shells on Rwandan territory, which injured civilians. On October 23, a Rwandan citizen was injured by a stray bullet from clashes between armed groups allied with the DR Congo army. ALSO READ: Rwandan envoy condemns Kinshasa’s arming of militias The Rwandan government urges Kinshasa to end support to the UN-sanctioned terrorist group FDLR. The militia is accused of spreading hate speech and violence against the Congolese Tutsi communities. Eastern DR Congo has been volatile for nearly 30 years and remains home to more than 130 armed groups.
