Three Congolese navy officers arrived in Goma on July 12, to affix the formally established ceasefire monitoring mechanism geared toward supporting peace efforts in japanese DR Congo, The New Occasions has learnt.
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Lt Col Cosmas Ben Epule, Maj Fredy Lokuli Bofanda and Maj Andre Kitoko Dimonekene have been flown to rebel-controlled Goma metropolis by the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, and joined the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+). The ceasefire monitoring mechanism is headed by Zambian Brig Gen Charles Simuyuni Nakeempa, who’s deputised by Angolan Col Arlindo Sebastião Vandunem Fernandes.
The mechanism additionally contains three AFC/M23 navy officers, whereas observers from the African Union (AU), the State of Qatar and the USA are anticipated to take part in verification missions to strengthen transparency and worldwide confidence.
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What the monitoring staff will do
MONUSCO will present logistical and coordination help to the EJVM+, whose mandate is to supervise compliance with the ceasefire agreed by the Congolese authorities and AFC/M23 in July 2025 in Doha, Qatar.
The staff will examine reported violations, confirm incidents on the bottom and decide whether or not assaults, troop actions or different actions quantity to breaches of the ceasefire settlement. It would have unrestricted entry to either side of the frontline and submit weekly reviews to the oversight physique.
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Any member of the mechanism could report suspected violations, which should be investigated inside 72 hours. The mechanism will usually meet just about each month or each time needed, with its first assembly anticipated inside seven days of its institution.
The EJVM+ will stay operational till each events absolutely adjust to the ceasefire or collectively agree to finish the association.
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Preventing continues regardless of deployment
Regardless of the deployment of the federal government officers, the AFC/M23 motion on Tuesday, July 14, reported continued assaults by the Kinshasa coalition, comprising the Congolese military (FARDC), Burundian forces, the FDLR and Wazalendo militias, mercenaries and different native armed teams.
In response to the motion, coalition forces shelled densely populated areas in Masisi territory on July 12, putting Malemo and its environment earlier than later concentrating on the centre of Miandja. It mentioned additional assaults have been launched early on July 14 in opposition to Gasenyi, Ruki and Gatovu.
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The motion mentioned the assaults brought on civilian deaths, destruction of property and the displacement of households.
“The Kinshasa regime continues a large deployment of troops and navy tools with a view to a generalized offensive within the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, posing a grave menace to civilian populations,” the AFC/M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka mentioned in an announcement posted on his official X account.
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Talking to The New Occasions on Tuesday, the AFC/M23 deputy spokesperson Oscar Balinda questioned Kinshasa's dedication to the ceasefire, saying the arrival of its representatives in Goma was inconsistent with the navy operations reported on the bottom.
“Sending their staff for the ceasefire monitoring course of and attacking us the subsequent morning merely means they don’t consider within the ceasefire itself,” Balinda mentioned. “It’s not a shock as a result of it’s a reflection of the earlier actions by the federal government.”
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He additionally accused the federal government of failing to implement earlier confidence-building measures.
“We have now beforehand signed the discharge of prisoners by either side. We launched authorities troopers in our liberated zones, but Kinshasa has by no means launched any of our individuals imprisoned by the federal government,” he mentioned.
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Regardless of the continued preventing, Balinda mentioned the subsequent step now rests with the commander of the verification mechanism.
“The remaining lies with the Zambian common to convene the assembly to evaluate how the ceasefire will likely be monitored. We have now all the time advocated for a buffer zone in the course of the peace talks and Kinshasa opposed it, so the staff should decide how the ceasefire will likely be applied and monitored.”
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Balinda argued that the federal government’s determination to ship its representatives to the monitoring mechanism may very well be because of its failure to retake Minembwe in South Kivu, an space that had endured months of air strikes, floor offensives and a blockade that disrupted entry to meals, medication and markets earlier than it was lately captured by Twirwaneho, an area self-defence group allied with AFC/M23.
“Their intention was to seize the realm and destroy it utterly, however they failed. It was liberated and Minembwe individuals won’t ever face such sustained assaults ever once more.”
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Balinda maintained that AFC/M23 has by no means meant to broaden its territory however intervenes to guard civilians.
“We don’t assault to broaden the liberated zones. We discovered ourselves in Minembwe and different areas like Kalehe in South Kivu as our means to guard civilians who’ve been persecuted since 2025, with sustained drone assaults and different technique of killings,” Balinda mentioned.
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He claimed the motion had lately captured Level Zero in South Kivu, which he mentioned had been utilized by coalition forces for navy telecommunications and to disrupt communications amongst native communities.
He additionally famous that Burundian troops had suffered vital losses throughout latest preventing regardless of their continued engagement within the fights.
The ceasefire was agreed underneath the Declaration of Ideas signed in Doha on July 19, 2025, as a key confidence-building measure and one in every of eight protocols meant to pave the way in which in the direction of a ultimate peace settlement.
The method superior on October 14, 2025, when each events signed an settlement establishing the joint ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism.
