DRC, M23 rebels plan return to Qatar talks amid Trump pressure
M23 holds more territory than before in eastern DRC after staging a lightning advance earlier this year. The fighting, the latest flare-up in a conflict with roots in the Rwandan genocide three decades ago, has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
US President Donald Trump's administration is trying to broker a peace deal between Rwanda and the DRC that would bring billions of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
Qatar is hosting a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DRC government and M23.
Last week the Rwandan and DRC foreign ministers signed a peace accord in Washington, pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days.
The top diplomats also met with Trump, who invited DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame to Washington to sign a package of deals that Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, dubbed the 'Washington Accord'.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Boulos said the Trump administration would 'love' to hold the meeting at the end of July. He said US officials hope to have a deal in Doha finalised by then.
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