GOMA, DR Congo, April 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The DR Congo government and the M23 group on Wednesday issued a landmark joint statement saying they had agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country while they work towards a permanent truce.

The surprise announcement follows talks mediated by Qatar. The two sides said they had "agreed to work towards the conclusion of a truce" in the conflict that has seen M23 seize key cities in the conflict-stricken region.

More than six truces and ceasefires have been agreed and then collapsed again since 2021.

UN experts and several western governments say that M23, which reignited the conflict in 2021, is supported by Rwanda. The Kigali government has denied giving military help. But a US envoy last week called on Rwanda to withdraw from DR Congo territory.

But the latest statement, read on DR Congo national television and released by an M23 spokesman, said: "Both parties reaffirm their commitment to an immediate cessation of hostilities."

They said the "cessation of hostilities" would apply "throughout the duration of the talks and until their conclusion."

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been riven by conflict for three decades and the crisis has surged again in recent months with M23's new advance into the cities of Goma and Bukavu.

DR Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has long refused direct talks with them or their political alliance, accusing them of working for Rwanda.

Qatar created a diplomatic surprise with its mediation effort. Negotiations started this month but no official comment has been made on the Doha talks.

Qatar has signed several economic cooperation accords with Rwanda and DR Congo, including to invest more than one billion dollars in a new airport near Kigali.

Rwanda has never acknowledged a military presence in DR Congo but frequently highlights its security concerns on the frontier and has demanded the eradication of ethnic Hutu militias in DR Congo founded by Rwandan officials linked to the 1994 Rwanda genocide.