An senior advisor to the AFC/M23 movement has reaffirmed its commitment to the Qatar-mediated peace process, even as fighting intensifies in eastern DR Congo, where civilians and its positions have recently come under renewed drone attacks by the government coalition. ALSO READ: Congolese lawyer questions mediators’ silence amid attacks against Banyamulenge In an interview published on March 5 with American scholar and Great Lakes conflict researcher Bojana Coulibaly, the AFC/M23 advisor Jean Paul Shaka said the movement remains ready to continue negotiations under the Doha framework despite continued military escalation by Kinshasa and its allies in North and South Kivu provinces. Shaka said the movement still views dialogue as the only viable path toward resolving the long-running crisis in eastern DR Congo. “AFC/M23 made it clear that it is committed to the peace process in Doha,” he said. “We have had achievements that we want to keep and build on for further negotiations on different protocols included in the framework agreement signed on November 15, 2025.” He added that the movement remains prepared to respond to future invitations by the Qatari mediators to resume talks. “There is no doubt that we stand ready to respond to the invitation by the facilitator Qatar, and we will go to continue negotiations,” Shaka said. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 says still committed to ceasefire despite Kinshasa attacks The Doha process, launched in April 2025, established a structured framework for ceasefire implementation and monitoring between the Congolese government and the AFC/M23. One of its milestones was the signing of a ceasefire monitoring mandate involving the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and logistical support from MONUSCO, the UN mission in the country. According to Shaka, the mechanism is expected to become operational once both parties sign a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the modalities for joint verification missions along the front lines. “We are waiting for the Congolese government to sign the MoU,” he said. “Once it is in place, the Joint Verification teams can be deployed to verify adherence to the ceasefire agreed last year.” ALSO READ: Bisimwa condemns ‘indifference’ of mediators amid Kinshasa’s attacks However, Shaka also pointed to the pattern of commitments being made and later undermined by continued hostilities on the ground. He cited the ceasefire initiative announced in Luanda under the mediation of João Lourenço, which the Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi publicly accepted but which failed to translate into a genuine halt to fighting. “We have many times raised the fact that the Congolese government has not respected ceasefires, whether those signed in Doha or even the one they accepted from the Angolan president,” Shaka said. “In practice, there is nothing such as a ceasefire.” He argued that attacks against civilians and AFC/M23 positions have continued despite these commitments. “Attacks against our populations in Minembwe and other areas like Masisi have just continued, and the population is suffering from that,” he added. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 vows to defend civilians against ‘Kinshasa’s terror’ In recent days, the movement has denounced repeated drone strikes targeting populated areas and its positions in North and South Kivu, particularly in the Minembwe region of South Kivu. Shaka noted that civilians in South Kivu, especially members of the Banyamulenge community, have been subjected to sustained assaults by Congolese forces and allied groups, including Burundian troops, Wazalendo militias, mercenaries, and the Kinshasa-backed Rwandan genocidal militia FDLR. “The population in Minembwe has been undergoing unimaginable bombing and attacks,” he said. “Schools and hospitals have been destroyed, and most Banyamulenge villages in the High Plateaus have been devastated.” He further argued that the violence reflects a broader campaign of ethnic hostility. “The killings against the Tutsi Banyamulenge are nothing short of acts of genocide,” he said, adding that these acts are accompanied by hate speech. ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa states four reasons why his movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt Shaka noted the movement had repeatedly withdrawn from several strategic locations in order to create space for negotiations, including the recent pullout from Uvira as well as earlier withdrawals from Walikale, Nturo and parts of Masisi. “We withdrew from these areas to give a chance to the peace process,” he said. “We wanted the government of DRC to understand that the crisis in Congo can only be settled through negotiations.” He emphasized that in several instances, areas vacated by AFC/M23 forces were later attacked by militias targeting communities perceived to be associated with the movement. “When we withdrew from Uvira, populations of the Tutsi ethnicity were threatened by militias and allied forces,” he said. “After they fled, these forces destroyed churches, schools and houses belonging to them. The message was clear: they do not want them there.” ALSO READ: AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa states four reasons why his movement is fighting Tshisekedi govt Despite the deteriorating security situation, Shaka maintained that the Doha process remains the only credible avenue for resolving the crisis. “We believe that every Congolese has the right to live anywhere in the country peacefully,” he said. “The responsibility of the state is to protect those rights, and negotiations remain the path to achieve that.”
