Qatari official says draft peace deal shared with DR Congo, M23 rebels: Report

ISTANBUL

Qatar has shared a draft peace agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the M23 rebel group as part of the ongoing Doha peace process, the Congolese media reported on Sunday, citing a Qatari official.

“Although the timeline set in the Doha Declaration of Principles for the signing of the agreement was not met, both parties responded positively to the facilitator and expressed their willingness to continue negotiations,” a Qatari official engaged in the mediation efforts told the Actualite.cd news website.

The Qatari official expressed hope that on-the-ground challenges could be “quickly” addressed through dialogue and “sincere engagement” from both sides.

The Congolese government and M23 rebels signed a declaration of principles on July 19 in Doha, Qatar, following the US-brokered peace deal between Congo and Rwanda in Washington, DC, on June 27.

The declaration, signed by representatives of the Congolese government and a coalition of rebel groups that included the M23, committed both parties to a permanent ceasefire.

The rebel group, which is at the heart of the conflict in eastern Congo, controls significant territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, which it seized earlier this year.

The Doha Declaration called on both sides to facilitate prisoner releases, but the Congolese government reportedly rejected M23's demand for the immediate release of over 700 prisoners, insisting on "case-by-case" amnesty, while M23 demanded that all of its prisoners be transferred to Goma before further talks could begin.

The declaration set August 8 as the deadline to begin direct negotiations on a peace agreement after the agreed-upon "confidence-building measures" were implemented, with August 18 set as the target date for reaching consensus and signing a final peace deal. However, the parties missed the deadline because they did not attend the negotiations on August 8.