Congo (DRC): The agreement has begun to be implemented

Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba said they appreciated the progress made in implementing the agreement.

Kayikwamba said at a press conference that the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has taken a positive step forward.

He made the announcement on the evening of August 12, 2024, following a private meeting between Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi and Angolan President Joao Lourenço.

“The fact is that the agreement is being respected, so we will continue to discuss these issues until they are completed,” he said.

Although clashes were reported in parts of the east, there were some minor violations.

Angolan Minister Tete Antonio, who was present at the press conference, reminded that there is already an established body to control government compliance and that it will be strengthened so that it can carry out its duties.

President Lourenço travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday after attending the swearing-in ceremony of President Paul Kagame in Rwanda on Sunday.

RDC President Tshisekedi and his colleague Lourenco hold talks in Luanda on July 30, 2024.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi holds special talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenço on security in the east

Participants in the meeting, held in Luanda on 30 July, agreed that the talks will continue with the aim of achieving lasting peace and security in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Despite urgent calls to end the fighting in eastern Congo, there are obstacles to the implementation of this decision as the DRC government has made it clear that it does not want to negotiate with the M23, which it calls a terrorist group.

The DRC government’s intransigence could lead to a continued war between its army and the M23.

The M23 took up arms in self-defense as a result of its campaign of massacres of the Ikinyarwanda-speaking Tutsi people of Congo.

The agreed ceasefire began on August 4, 2024, just before the start of the agreement, it was announced that the M23 group continued to fight, also declaring that the ceasefire did not happen because they were not invited and did not participate in the negotiations and announced that the Luanda Agreement involved signatories.