Angola has announced a cease-fire deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
The agreement was reached following a meeting between Rwanda’s and DRC’s foreign ministries hosted by Angolan President Joao Lourenco at the presidential palace in the capital, Luanda.
Kinshasa has long accused Kigali of supporting M23 rebels attacking the army in eastern North Kivu region, which Rwanda denies.
A UN Security Council-commissioned investigation revealed that 3,000 to 4,000 Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the M23 and that Kigali had “de facto control” over the group’s operations.
This current stoppage of hostilities is set to take effect at midnight on August 4, when a partially observed humanitarian truce between M23 and government forces expires.
However, it remains unclear which groups have consented to lay down their arms.
For nearly 30 years, the DRC’s mineral-rich east has been rife with warfare between local and foreign-based armed groups, including M23 rebels.
According to the United Nations, fighting in the province has displaced more than 1.7 million people, bringing the total number of persons displaced by the country’s wars to more than 7 million.
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