US Welcomes Temporary Humanitarian Truce in DRC Amid Escalating Violence

Congolese soldiers jump into a moving vehicle to escort General Constant Ndima after he took office as military governor of North Kivu province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 10, 2021. (Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States has welcomed a two-week humanitarian truce in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid ongoing clashes between government troops and M23 rebels, the White House said in a July 4 statement.

The truce—agreed to by both parties in the conflict—is set to start at midnight on July 5 and will last through July 19, said White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

Both parties have committed to stop using their weapons and allow for the voluntary return of displaced people, she said.

Government troops and M23 rebels have also pledged to give humanitarian aid workers “unfettered access” to vulnerable populations.

The truce covers areas of hostilities most affecting civilian populations, the White House said.

The pause in fighting comes as the humanitarian situation in North Kivu—a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern DRC that has been plagued by the M23 insurgency and other militia violence for more than two years—grows increasingly dire.

According to the United Nations, fighting has displaced 2.8 million people in North Kivu, including 150,000 displaced in the last week alone after M23 rebels seized the strategically important town of Kanyabayonga.

The ongoing threat of disasters, including heavy rains, landslides, and floods, has further complicated the situation, according to the UN.

“The recent expansion of fighting in North Kivu has prevented humanitarian workers from reaching hundreds of thousands of IDPs in the area around Kanyabayonga and displaced more than 100,000 people from their homes,” NSC spokesperson Ms. Watson said.

Truce Will ‘Ease Suffering of Vulnerable Populations’

Rwanda has consistently accused the Congo of financing and fighting alongside a Hutu armed rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). That group has attacked the Tutsi ethnic group in both countries.

M23 claims it is fighting to protect Tutsis from rivals like the FDLR.

The governments of the DRC and Rwanda have both expressed support for the truce “to ease the suffering of vulnerable populations and set conditions for broader de-escalation of tensions in eastern DRC,” Ms. Watson said.

She noted that the United States, which has previously urged both the DRC and Rwanda to de-escalate tensions amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, now calls on all parties to “honor the spirit of the truce prior to it taking effect.”

“The U.S. Government will continue to use its intelligence and diplomatic resources to monitor activities by armed forces and non-state armed groups during the humanitarian truce,” the White House NSC spokesperson concluded.

In a separate statement on July 4, the State Department also welcomed the truce between all parties fighting in the conflict in the DRC.

“We reaffirm our support for regional diplomatic efforts to find the way to permanent solutions and a lasting peace for the long-suffering communities of the eastern DRC,” the department said.

Reuters contributed to this report.