The United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and MONUSCO, the world body mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) all expressed appreciation for a ceasefire in the eastern part of the country starting on Sunday (4 August).
The ceasefire announcement was made during a second meeting of the DRC and Rwandan foreign ministers on Tuesday (30 July) in Luanda under the mediation of Angolan President João Lourenço.
“We hope this agreement will help create conditions for de-escalation of tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and enable the safe return of those internally displaced to their homes. We reiterate our support to these efforts, led by the President of Angola, through the Luanda process, and we encourage both parties to respect their commitment for the restoration of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” was the reaction of Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In the wake of the agreement, European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell called for swift and comprehensive implementation of decisions taken in Luanda. He further urged all parties involved to rigorously respect the latest ceasefire.
At ground level, MONUSCO said it is ready to support the ad-hoc verification mandated to oversee ceasefire adherence.
Acting MONUSCO Head Bruno Lemarquis, who is also Guterres’ Deputy Special representative in the country, expressed hope the ceasefire would foster de-escalation of conflict.
There was, at the time of publication, no indication from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on how the ceasefire could or would affect operations of its three-nation mission to the eastern DRC. Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania are troop and materiel contributing countries to SAMIDRC (SADC Mission in DRC).
The ceasefire comes into effect 24 hours after expiry of a 15 day humanitarian truce negotiated by the United States (US).
