Drone strikes and clashes in eastern Congo threaten region's peace efforts
ABC News
Congo’s government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are accusing each other of violating terms of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending decades-long fighting and bringing a permanent peace in the conflict-battered region
GOMA, Congo -- Congo’s government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels on Friday accused each other of violating terms of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending decadeslong fighting and bringing a permanent peace in the conflict-battered region.
Recent drone strikes and clashes have cast doubt over the peace deal and a separate minerals deal that Congo signed with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to enable the U.S. access Congo’s rich minerals.
Trump helped negotiate a peace deal between Congo and neighboring Rwanda, seen as an indirect but key player in the conflict, while Qatar and other partners have championed similar efforts involving direct negotiations between the government and the M23.
But neither track has halted the fighting.
On Tuesday, a drone strike that the M23 blames on Congolese forces killed a French United Nations staffer in the key city of Goma, less than a month after a similar strike killed the rebel group's spokesperson and injured several others.
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