African Union calls for DRC ceasefire

LUANDA - Angola's president and several African Union representatives Monday called for a ceasefire in the conflict-plagued eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after meeting with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi in Luanda.

The resource-rich region, which borders Rwanda as well as Burundi, has been beset by decades of continual conflict with the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.

The conflict flared last year with the M23 seizing key cities and continuing attacks despite a flurry of diplomatic efforts, including a US-brokered peace deal signed in December and a parallel mediation effort by Qatar.

In a statement Monday evening, Angolan President and AU chairperson Joao Lourenco called "on the Parties to the conflict in the DRC to declare a ceasefire to take effect on a date and time to be agreed" and "accelerate the implementation of the Ceasefire Verification Mechanisms agreed in Doha on 14 October 2025".

Tshisekedi signed the statement, alongside Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbe and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed respectively as AU mediator and facilitators of the DRC peace process.

The leaders also threw their weight behind the US-brokered peace agreement, and said Angola would be mandated to "initiate consultations with all interested Congolese parties".

Qatar has been mediating between the Congolese government and the M23 for several months, and a commitment towards a ceasefire was signed in July.

In a parallel effort, the DRC and Rwanda formalised a US-brokered peace deal in December in Washington.

The agreements provide for a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of a "permanent" ceasefire, with support on the ground by the UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

The United Nations has said it would soon send a mission to the volatile region to help enforce a ceasefire, but a drone attack by M23 on an airport in Kisangani last week marked another escalation in the conflict.