Qatar presents draft peace proposal to Congo and M23 rebels, source says

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Qatar presents draft peace proposal to Congo and M23 rebels, source says

8:58 CAT | 06 Jun 2025

FILE- Members of the M23 rebel group mount their vehicles after the opening ceremony of Caisse Generale d'epargne du Congo in Goma, North Kivu province in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, April 7, 2025. [File photo: Reuters/Arlette Bashizi]

Qatar has presented a draft peace proposal to Congo and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels after months of mediation in Doha, and the two sides will consult their leaders before resuming talks, a source briefed on the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday.

Fighting in eastern Congo escalated this year as M23 staged an advance that saw it seize the region’s two largest cities, raising fears of a wider regional war.

African leaders along with Doha and Washington have been trying to broker a peace deal that would put an end to a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide more than three decades ago.

Sources from both the Congolese government and M23 camps told Reuters on Thursday that some members of the delegations had left Doha but cast doubt on whether there had been significant progress in the talks so far.

“The draft is not recent and has not been updated for over a month. The draft has nothing to do with what we proposed and takes more into account Kinshasa’s expectations,” said an M23 source who insisted on anonymity to discuss ongoing diplomacy.

The source briefed on the negotiations had a more positive take, saying the talks had “entered a deeper phase, with both sides engaging on the core issues underlying the conflict.”

Qatar successfully brokered a surprise meeting in March between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Both leaders called for a ceasefire after the meeting.

In April Congo and M23 issued statements pledging to work towards peace, though sources in both camps expressed patience over the pace of the talks in Doha.

Congo says Rwanda is supporting M23 by sending troops and arms.

Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo’s army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.

U.S. peace push

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda and facilitate billions in Western investments in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium.

Trump’s senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos, last month said he had spoken with the presidents of both countries and was “awaiting final feedback from both parties.”

Washington is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides to be signed this summer, accompanied by economic packages.

However a Congolese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters last month that no cooperation on minerals could happen without the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and “their proxies”, a reference to M23.

Source: Reuters