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DR Congo, M23 Rebels Announce Ceasefire After Peace Talks In Qatar

Tough negotiations are expected to resume in Qatar in the coming weeks for a broader peace deal. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have agreed to pause fighting as they work towards a broader peace deal, according to their joint statement. The truce, declared late on Wednesday after a round of negotiations in Qatar’s capital Doha, has raised hopes that the latest wave of violence, spurred by M23’s bloody January assault and capture of the DRC’s two largest cities, may begin to subside. “Both parties reaffirm their commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities, a categorical rejection of any hate speech, intimidation, and call on local communities to uphold these commitments,” said the joint statement. The “cessation of hostilities” would apply “throughout the duration of the talks and until their conclusion”, it added. Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from the eastern DRC city of Goma, said the two sides’ mutual agreement to pursue peace, after numerous failed negotiation attempts, was an encouraging shift. However, he added that reports of continued clashes, including in South Kivu province, show how “fragile” any truce agreement is. The peace push mediated by Qatar comes after the Gulf state successfully brokered a surprise meeting last month between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The session apparently paved the way for direct talks between DRC and M23, which Kinshasa had previously refused to meet with. The decades-long conflict has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with M23 made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi fighters. Many were former rebels integrated into the DRC army who later defected, citing discrimination and broken peace deals. Since 2021, the two sides have agreed to at least six truces that later collapsed. The latest bout of violence since January has killed thousands and raised fears of a wider regional war. The DRC, United Nations and Western governments have accused Rwanda of supporting M23 with troops and arms, but Kigali has long denied sending military help. Despite the truce statement, some DRC government and M23 sources cited by the Reuters news agency expressed frustration with the pace of negotiations. The sources said disagreements over potential confidence-building measures, such as the release of DRC-held prisoners accused of links to Rwanda and M23, had almost derailed the outcome. Ultimately, however, Qatar managed to pressure the two sides into releasing a joint statement agreeing to continue to work on a truce, according to informed diplomats cited by Reuters. “This is a crucial step towards ending the violence,” Maxime Prevot, Belgium’s foreign affairs minister, said on Wednesday in a post on X. Another informed source quoted by the AFP news agency said a “deeper round of discussions” was expected in Doha “in the coming weeks”. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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No Mercy: Israel Keeps Blocking Aid Amid Systematic Destruction Of Gaza

Many women and children among 13 killed in the latest Israeli aerial attacks across Gaza. Israel has maintained an eight-week blockade on food, medicine and aid entering Gaza, while continuing aerial attacks on homes and tent shelters – deepening what the United Nations describes as the war’s “worst humanitarian crisis”. Overnight and early Thursday morning, at least 13 people were killed in Israeli attacks, according to Al Jazeera correspondents. Among the dead were three children in a tent near Nuseirat in central Gaza, and a woman and four children in a home in Gaza City. Also reportedly killed in a recent attack was local journalist Saeed Abu Hassanein, whose death adds to at least 232 slain reporters in Gaza during the war. “The Gaza Strip is witnessing a clear military escalation and a soaring humanitarian crisis,” reported Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum from central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah. He noted that rescuers, with much of their equipment damaged or destroyed, are increasingly struggling to reach victims trapped under wreckage. The communication centre of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, said there was “no pause”, “no mercy”, “no humanity” to Israel’s attacks. The statement accompanied video footage showing an Israeli tank moving through the apparent remains of the Shaboura refugee camp in southern Gaza. “In Shaboura refugee camp, as in every other corner in Gaza, the devastation never ends,” the centre said. Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is compounded by Israel’s continued aid blockade, which the acting head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has described as a seeming “deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life”. “The Gaza Strip is now likely facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the 18 months since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023,” said OCHA in its latest situation update on April 23. Gaza’s Ministry of Health highlighted the “dangerous and catastrophic” toll on women and children facing malnutrition, with many lacking adequate food, drinking water and baby formula. Israel’s continued refusal to let aid into Gaza defies a World Court order dating back to May 2024 for it to urgently facilitate aid into the enclave to prevent famine and starvation. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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