Overview
- Representatives of the DRC and the M23 insurgency signed a Declaration of Principles in Qatar that promises a permanent ceasefire but offers no timeline for rebels to relinquish captured territory, with an M23 spokesperson insisting they will not leave Goma.
- The Washington track earlier produced an April 25 declaration in which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the framework would protect American strategic interests in critical minerals for the tech sector.
- Rwandan President Paul Kagame on February 6 rejected claims that Kigali profits from Congolese minerals, even as a UN report alleges Rwandan mining in North Kivu and Rwanda frames its concerns around the FDLR threat.
- Humanitarian conditions are worsening in eastern Congo with an overwhelmed aid system, a reported surge in cholera, and the Southern African Development Community withdrawing its stabilization mission.
- Regional diplomacy remains volatile as the EU imposes sanctions on Rwanda, Kagame denounces the measures and severs ties with Belgium, and a separate Kagame–Tshisekedi ceasefire recommitment lacks clarity on enforcement.