The M23 armed group said it will pause its advance across DR Congo for humanitarian reasons.

Rwanda-backed forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have announced that they will pause their advance across the east of the country for humanitarian reasons.

The AFC/M23 rebel coalition announced late on Monday that it would implement a unilateral ceasefire starting on Tuesday. The group, backed by thousands of troops from neighbouring Rwanda, seized Goma, the main city in eastern DRC, last week, with the United Nations estimating 900 people were killed, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

Calls have been mounting for a humanitarian corridor to be established to allow people to escape the fighting. However, there was no immediate comment from the DRC government in Kinshasa on the announcement, and it is unclear if the country’s military will respect the ceasefire.

“The Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23) informs the public that in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the regime in Kinshasa it declares a ceasefire starting 4 February 4 2025 for humanitarian reasons,” the rebels said in a statement posted on X.

COMMUNIQUÉ OFFICIEL DE L’ALLIANCE FLEUVE CONGO (AFC/M23) DU 3 FÉVRIER 2025 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/TcsJ4g9noE

— Lawrence KANYUKA (@LawrenceKanyuka) February 3, 2025

Having taken Goma, a city of two million people and home to huge mineral wealth, the rebels had in recent days advanced towards Bukavu, another regional hub in eastern DRC, having previously declared their goal to sweep across DRC to take the capital.

However, in their statement, they declared that they would not attack the provincial city.

“It must be made clear that we have no intention of capturing Bukavu or other areas. However, we reiterate our commitment to protecting and defending the civilian population and our positions,” M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said in a statement.

The UN said on Monday that at least 900 bodies have been recovered from the streets of Goma, but that the actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher, with the total not including those already taken to the morgue and bodies still littering the city.

Local authorities also counted almost 2,900 people injured last week, according to the reports.

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said the DRC’s government has not yet responded to the ceasefire announcement.

“Government officials have been saying time and again that it’s not going to respond to anything that M23 is saying,” she said. “They do not trust any ceasefire agreements are going to bear any fruit.”

“We have been speaking to army officials, who are saying that they are regrouping. They are strategising, and the plan is to try to retake Goma and the surrounding areas,” she said.

Peace talks?

The announcement of the pause in the fighting came ahead of a regional summit at the weekend which the presidents of Congo and Rwanda are expected to attend.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have previously failed to attend talks attempting to broker peace. However, Kenya, which holds the rotating presidency of the East African Community bloc, suggested the pair will turn up.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) on Monday urged parties in the conflict to return to negotiations and called for a “rapid, safe and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians”.

The fighting in the DRC is linked to decades of ethnic conflict. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis, who fled to the DRC amid the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

DRC accuses Rwanda and the rebels of looting the country’s resources, which include vast deposits of rare earths.

The longstanding conflict has left many people across the region displaced and in dire need of humanitarian aid.

Source

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Al Jazeera and news agencies