After days of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 have agreed to a shared roadmap designed to facilitate peace in the DRC after years of brutal war. 

The US State Department, which was involved in mediating talks alongside the African Union (AU), Switzerland and Qatar, released a statement describing the situation on Saturday evening.

The State Department said the agreement builds on a US-brokered deal signed last November in Doha, Qatar, adding that Congo and the rebels had "developed a roadmap setting out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations under the Doha Framework Agreement."

Despite a ceasefire being in place since November 15, the shift to peace has been slow, though prisoners, for instance, were recently exchanged.

The newly agreed roadmap made clear that an observer mission monitoring the ceasefire will receive support from UN MONUSCO peacekeeping forces and that further negotiations designed to bring about lasting peace will take place soon.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed and millions displaced by fighting between the two sides since early 2022, when M23 — with backing from neighboring Rwanda — began its quest for control of resource-rich eastern Congo and its gold, cassiterite, coltan and diamonds.

M23, which is accused of committing brutal wartime atrocities, has controlled large swaths of the North and South Kivu provinces since 2025.

The State Department statement released on Saturday said both sides had thanked mediators "for their steadfast support in advancing peace and stability in eastern DRC and the broader Great Lakes region."

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Edited by: Sean Sinico