DR Congo, M23 fighters trade accusations over ceasefire
Africa
By
AFP
| Feb 20, 2026
A patrol car of the M23 movement patrols in Uvira on December 13, 2025. [AFP]
The DR Congo government and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group accused each other Friday of violating an Angolan-mediated ceasefire in the DRC's troubled east.
Angola proposed a ceasefire to the DRC and Rwanda to start last Wednesday, which Kinshasa accepted "in principle", while not confirming that date, and Thursday brought a precarious lull in a region ravaged by 30 years of violence.
Since 2021 the region has laboured under the resurgence of the anti-government armed group M23, which has seized large swathes of territory in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, with the support of Kigali and its armed forces.
The armed group launched a new offensive in December on the town of Uvira, in the midst of the ratification of an agreement between the DRC and Rwanda under US mediation.
READ MORE
French aid worker killed in DR Congo air strike
Rwanda hits back at US sanctions over M23 support in DR Congo
US slaps sanctions on Rwanda military over DR Congo 'violation'
Angola proposes new DR Congo ceasefire
South Africa to withdraw troops from UN mission in DR Congo
Kipyegon among super-fast stars invited for Sirikwa Classic XC tour
Deadly landslide strikes M23 held mining site in DRC
DR Congo city residents forced to adapt during year of M23 rule
South Korean ex-PM Han gets 23 years jail for martial law role
While Kinshasa immediately declared that it accepted "the principle" of the Angolan-brokered ceasefire, the M23 accused Kinshasa of "manipulation" for not confirming when it would begin.
Local sources and security sources said nonetheless there had been a lull since Wednesday in the fighting.
However, Friday saw the Congolese military accuse the M23 of having "attacked its positions in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu" and thereby "torpedoing the peace process."
The M23 denounced in an overnight statement "ceasefire violations" by Kinshasa forces.
AFP was unable to immediately verify the allegations with independent sources.
However, local sources said Friday that fighting had resumed around Minembwe, a town in the South Kivu highlands, where Congolese troops, backed by local militias and Burundian soldiers, have been battling a coalition of M23-affiliated militias for weeks.
Relative calm persists on other parts of the front line in South Kivu province, those sources added.
Countless armed groups are present in DR Congo's east and the warring parties sometimes use them as proxy forces.
Since the resurgence of the M23 in 2021, half a dozen ceasefires and truces have been signed and broken.