DR Congo, M23 rebels sign deal in Qatar to end fighting in eastern Congo
The declaration was signed on Saturday between representatives from both sides in Doha.
The DRC and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been engaged in heavy fighting, spurred by M23's bloody January assault and capture of the DRC's two largest cities.
The decades-long conflict has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with M23 made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi fighters.
More to come…
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Al Jazeera
39 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Thailand-Cambodia border clashes continue before Malaysia ceasefire talks
Clashes have continued in several areas along Thailand's disputed border with Cambodia, as fighting between the two sides entered its fifth day just hours before scheduled ceasefire talks. Leaders of the two warring Southeast Asian countries are scheduled to hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia starting at 07:00 GMT on Monday, in a bid to halt fighting that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 270,000 from both sides of the border. Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet are due to meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks. China is also expected to send a delegation to the talks brokered by Malaysia and being pushed by the United States. In a post on X on Monday, Hun said the purpose of the talks is to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the conflict with Thailand. However, Phumtham, before departing Bangkok on Monday, told reporters: 'We do not believe Cambodia is acting in good faith, based on their actions in addressing the issue. They need to demonstrate genuine intent, and we will assess that during the meeting.' Meanwhile, Thai army spokesperson Colonel Richa Suksuwanon told reporters on Monday that fighting continues along the border, as gunfire could be heard at dawn in Samrong in Cambodia's Oddar Meanchey province, The Associated Press news agency reported. On Sunday, Thailand said one person was killed and another injured after Cambodia fired a rocket in Sisaket province. Thailand's military also reported that Cambodian snipers were camping in one of the contested temples, and accused Phnom Penh of surging troops along the border and hammering Thai territory with rockets. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence spokeswoman Maly Socheata on Monday accused Thailand of deploying 'a lot of troops' and firing 'heavy weapons' into the Cambodian territory. Socheata claimed that before dawn on Monday, the Thai military targeted areas near the ancient Ta Muen Thom and the Ta Kwai temples, which Cambodia claims are its territory but are being disputed by Thailand. She also accused the Thai military of firing smoke bombs from aircraft over Cambodian territory and heavy weapons at its soldiers, adding that Cambodian troops 'were able to successfully repel the attacks'. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from Thailand's border province of Surin, said the mediators have been 'very reluctant' to acknowledge the holding of talks in the Malaysian capital. 'The Malaysian Foreign Ministry was incredibly nervous. Last week, they had said that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had brokered a peace deal only to be shot down very quickly by the Thai Foreign Ministry,' Cheng said. Still, Cheng said a mounting death toll and the number of displaced people could give the two leaders the 'motivation' to resolve the crisis peacefully. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said US officials 'are on the ground in Malaysia to assist these peace efforts', while Anwar told domestic media he would focus on securing an 'immediate ceasefire'.
Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Thailand and Cambodia to hold ceasefire talks in Malaysia
The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia are set to meet in Malaysia for talks aimed at resolving a deadly border dispute, even as both sides accuse one another of new artillery attacks in contested areas. Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will lead Bangkok's delegation on Monday in the mediation effort. The talks are scheduled to begin at 3pm local time (07:00 GMT). Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is also expected to attend, Malaysian authorities confirmed. Kuala Lumpur currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc, and has offered to mediate the crisis, which has left several soldiers dead in recent weeks. Tensions escalated after both nations exchanged fire along the disputed stretch of their shared border, prompting international concern. Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim proposed a ceasefire to both parties. Speaking to reporters in Scotland on Sunday, United States President Donald Trump said he warned both countries that future trade agreements with Washington would be suspended if hostilities continue. 'I spoke to both of the prime ministers, and I think by the time I got off [the phone], I think they want to settle now,' Trump said during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry. He added he believed the talks in Malaysia marked a step toward de-escalation. Cambodia and Thailand have traded accusations of artillery attacks in the hours since Trump said both countries had agreed to hash out a ceasefire. The attacks on Sunday came after both sides said they were willing to start talks to end the fighting over their border dispute after Trump spoke to their leaders late on Saturday. Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. More than 200,000 people have also been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said. Cambodia said it fully endorsed Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire. Thailand, on the other hand, said that while it was grateful to Trump, it could not begin talks while Cambodia was targeting its civilians, a claim Phnom Penh denied. 'We have proposed a bilateral between our foreign ministers to conclude the conditions for a ceasefire and drawing back troops and long-range weapons,' Phumtham told reporters before heading off to visit border areas. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence said Thailand shelled and launched ground assaults on a number of points along the border. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes. The Thai army, meanwhile, said Cambodian forces fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes early on Sunday, and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers. 'Both governments today … blaming the other side for initiating the attacks, saying they both want a ceasefire but the other side has to meet certain conditions first… We are reaching this sort of deadlock where neither side is able to stand back,' Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng said, reporting from the Thai province of Surin along the Thai-Cambodia border. 'We just checked in with some contacts on the border. They say they are still hearing exchanges of artillery fire. There were heavy barrages going in from Thailand, most of it from the Thai side going across into Cambodia, but some … rockets coming back in exchange.' Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples of Ta Moan Thom and the 11th-century Preah Vihear central to the dispute. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tensions escalated in 2008 after Cambodia tried to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and skirmishes over several years killed at least a dozen people. Ceasefire push Trump on Saturday said he had spoken with Phumtham and Hun Manet and they agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire to end the fighting, which began on Thursday. 'Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace,' Trump wrote on social media, adding that tariff negotiations with both countries were on hold until the fighting stopped. Hun Manet said his foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, will speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with the Thais and warned Bangkok against reneging on any agreement. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged both sides on Saturday to 'immediately agree to a ceasefire' and hold talks to find a lasting solution. As fighting continues, those evacuated from areas along the border in both countries are being 'relatively well cared for' at evacuation centres, Cheng said. 'They've got basic things like food, water, a little bit of bedding, but they came with virtually nothing, and they don't know if they're going to be here for days, weeks or even months,' he said from a centre in Surin, where 3,000 people are staying. Civilians on both sides are urging for a ceasefire to be implemented soon. 'For me, I think it is great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so both countries can live with peace,' said Phnom Penh university student Sreung Nita. Thavorn Toosawan, a resident of Sisaket in northeastern Thailand, said, 'If there is a ceasefire, things will be better', adding, 'It's great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace.'
Al Jazeera
19 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
At least 38 killed in church attack in eastern DR Congo
At least 38 people have been killed and 15 others injured in an attack on a church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The attack, carried out by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) wielding guns and machetes, took place at the church in Ituri province's Komanda city early on Sunday. The ADF, with ties to ISIL (ISIS), is a rebel group that operates in the borderland between Uganda and the DRC, and has routinely conducted attacks against civilian populations. Several houses and shops were also burned down, and many people remain missing after the attack, which happened while Catholic Christians were attending a prayer vigil at the church, run by the Caritas charity. 'The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church,' said Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda. 'Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets.' DRC's Radio Okapi reported the death toll as 43, blaming it on the ADF. 'More than 20 victims were killed with bladed weapons during a prayer vigil in a church,' the radio said. 'Other bodies were found in burned houses nearby.' 'What we know this morning is that there was an incursion by armed men with machetes into a church not far from Komanda,' DRC army spokesperson Jules Ngongo said. A civil society leader told The Associated Press news agency that people were shot dead inside and outside the church, adding that they found at least three charred bodies. 'But the search [for bodies] is continuing,' Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, told AP. 'We are truly disappointed because it is incredible that such a situation could occur in a town where all the security officials are present,' Duranthabo said, adding that some people fled the area and moved to Bunia town. 'We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.' The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in Ituri. Earlier this month, ADF killed dozens of people in the province in what a UN spokesperson described as a 'bloodbath'. The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighbouring DRC and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to ISIL. The ADF's leadership says it is fighting to form a hardliner government in the East African country. The DRC army has long struggled against the rebel group, and it is now grappling with a complex web of attacks since renewed hostilities with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
