Description: Representatives from the Congolese government and the M23 rebel movement met in Doha, Qatar, where they signed the latest peace framework agreement under the mediation of the US, Qatar and the African Union. US special representative for the region, Massad Boulos, stated that the framework included eight concrete measures subjected to implementation after additional negotiations are concluded over the next two weeks. The measures included the rapid implementation of ceasefire monitoring mechanisms, the expedient prisoner exchanges, improved and increased delivery of humanitarian aid in the country’s eastern provinces as well as the return of displaced civilians and the establishment of a state authority in the rebel – controlled areas. In the interim, the Ugandan – based and ISIS – affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorists killed more than 17 people in the village of Byambwe located in the territory of Lubero in the North Kivu province. In a separate incident, more than 32 people were killed in an artisanal mine in the Lualaba province at the Kalando mining site due to gunfire in the vicinity of the unregulated mining site.
Impact: The latest framework is aimed more towards keeping both sides away from diplomatic aversion and distancing rather than being an instrument towards concrete implementation of the overall peace framework. Boulos’s statements didn’t offer much confidence or reasoning behind the latest peace framework while both warring parties also failed to address the public and reassure their commitments towards the implementation of the peace agreement. Terrorist organizations are continuing to exploit the power vacuums in provinces like North Kivu, where the M23 and the Congolese military have decreased their presence due to commitments made across the several peace negotiations and signed agreements between the government and the rebel representatives. One of the most disastrous mining accidents claiming the lives of more than 32 people is attesting to the fact that civilian population is being largely exploited, blackmailed or threatened into excavating the country’s mining riches on sites with nonexistent regulations or safety measures, since the war in eastern Congo is predominantly aimed towards exerting control over mineral – rich territories. Instability and volatile conditions would prevail in the short to mid – term period with both sides still not committing significant resources or diplomatic capital behind the implementation of the peace platform.