CONGO signed a declaration of principles with a Rwanda-backed militia in Qatar on Saturday to end fighting and commit to a comprehensive peace agreement. The deal would include restoration of state authorities in key eastern cities controlled by the insurgents.

Congo and the M23 militia have committed to "building trust" through various measures, including an exchange of prisoners and detainees as well as restoring state authority in all parts of the country, including rebel-held areas, Qatari minister of state Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi said.

It was not immediately clear if the declaration involved M23’s withdrawal from cities it controls, as the two parties seemed to interpret the agreement differently.

Bertrand Bisimwa, an M23 leader, posted on X that the declaration was “not a question of withdrawal but of mechanisms for empowering the state, enabling it to assume its prerogatives and obligations.” 

M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka said: “We are in Goma with the population and we are not going to get out.”

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said, however, that the declaration takes into account “non-negotiable withdrawal” by the militia, followed by a deployment of government forces and institutions.

Backed by neighbouring Rwanda, the M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 militias fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east. 

With seven million people displaced in Congo, the United Nations has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

Saturday’s signing is the first direct commitment by both sides since the rebels seized two key cities in eastern Congo in a major advance early this year. 

A final peace deal is to be signed no later than August 18 and “shall align with the Peace Agreement between Congo and Rwanda,” according to a copy of the declaration.

Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Ministry described the declaration as “a significant step forward” in ending the conflict.