The US State Department has announced that officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda met in Washington, DC on Wednesday for the second session of the Joint Oversight Committee on the June 27 peace agreement.

In a statement, committee members acknowledged delays in its implementation but reaffirmed their commitment to advancing peace and stability in eastern DR Congo.

The agreement, signed in Washington, calls for the cessation of hostilities between the two neighbouring armies.

Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by violence for decades. The resurgence of the M23 rebel group in 2021 exacerbated the conflict.

Deadly conflict

Clashes between the M23 and government forces in eastern DR Congo displaced at least 500,000 people and killed more than 3,000 by late February, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

DR Congo and Rwanda committed to a technical, intelligence, and military channel ahead of the next Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) meeting in Doha, the statement said.

The committee included representatives from the US, Qatar, Togo (as the African Union’s facilitator) and the African Union Commission.