DRC, M23-Led Alliance Agree Roadmap for Peace Talks After Five-Day Swiss Talks

August 23, 2026 — The Democratic Republic of Congo's government and the AFC/M23-led rebel alliance agreed on a roadmap 'setting out sequenced steps and timelines for negotiations' under the framework agreement the two sides signed in Doha in November 2025. The roadmap follows five days of talks in Switzerland (Aug 17-21) that also included representatives from the United States, Qatar, Togo, Switzerland and the African Union Commission. The parties agreed a standardized method for reporting ceasefire violations and a mechanism to address problems implementing the Doha agreement — a step forward after the process had stalled for months, with Rwandan-backed M23 forces still holding Goma and Bukavu and roughly 7 million people displaced in eastern DRC. The Doha track runs in parallel with the U.S.-brokered Washington Accords (signed Dec 4, 2025), whose own implementation timeline has repeatedly slipped.