East Congo ceasefire in trouble as rebels stay in strategic town

A practical ceasefire between Congolese troops and Rwandan-supported insurgents in the eastern Congo town of Walikale seemed to have collapsed on Monday, as the rebels reneged on their promise to pull back and charged the army with breaching its own agreements.

The possibility of a ceasefire in the critical town of Walikale, taken by the M23 rebels last week, had temporarily sparked optimism for rekindling halted diplomatic initiatives to address eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s largest conflict in many years.

The struggle, stemming from the lasting consequences of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and competition for mineral wealth, has resulted in rebel dominance over the two largest cities in eastern Congo, numerous casualties, and anxieties about an expanded regional war.

However, fewer than 48 hours after the rebels declared their plan to pull out from Walikale and Congo’s army indicated it would avoid assaulting them, the agreement threatened to follow the path of numerous previous unsuccessful ceasefires.

Lawrence Kanyuka, the representative for M23’s Congo River Alliance (AFC) rebel coalition, alleged that the army and allied militias failed to remove their attack drones from Walikale.

“This situation delays the repositioning of AFC/M23 forces in the zone,” he wrote on X. “It should be noted that this act constitutes a major obstacle to respecting the ceasefire and thus compromises peace initiatives underway.”

Residents of Walikale, which marked the farthest west M23 had reached since escalating their offensive in January, said rebel fighters were still in town on Monday morning.

“They haven’t moved. They are still visible in the centre of town,” said one, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

Efforts to negotiate between Congo and the rebels have failed, as M23 withdrew from talks amid EU sanctions. Angola has stepped back from mediation, frustrated by a Qatar-scheduled meeting while Rwanda denies involvement with M23, citing self-defense yet again .