DAKAR, Senegal — The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels have signed a declaration of principles for a permanent ceasefire in eastern Congo, where ethnic tensions and a quest for rich minerals have resulted in one of Africa’s longest conflicts, with thousands killed this year alone.

The African Union called Saturday’s signing, facilitated by Qatar, a “major milestone” in peace efforts. Qatari authorities said it paves the way for “a comprehensive peace that addresses the deep-rooted causes of the conflict” in the Central African nation.

Rwanda-backed M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern Congo. With 7 million people displaced in the country, the United Nations has called the conflict “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

History

The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when Hutu soldiers and militias killed between 500,000 and 1 million minority Tutsis as well as moderate Hutus and the Indigenous Twa. When Tutsi-led rebels stopped the genocide and ousted the Hutu government, nearly 2 million Hutus fled into neighboring Congo, fearing reprisals.

Rwandan authorities accused the authorities in Kinshasa of sheltering those responsible for the mass killings among the civilian refugees, most of whom had returned when Rwanda first invaded Congo in 1996. But Kigali said the remaining Hutu fighters in eastern Congo are still a threat to Rwanda’s Tutsi population, and wants them neutralized.

At least 6 million people have been killed since then in the conflict, mostly characterized by on-and-off fighting but also famines and unchecked disease outbreaks.

Coveted minerals

Analysts have said a lot of interests in the conflict in Congo are tied to the mostly untapped minerals in the east, estimated to be worth as much as $24 trillion by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Trump administration has pushed to gain access to the minerals key to much of the world’s technology. It is also to counter China, a key player in the region where the U.S. presence and influence have eroded. That is already playing out with KoBold Metals, a U.S. mining company that announced Friday it has signed an agreement with Congo for a “large-scale minerals exploration program” in the east.

Rwanda’s interests are also tied to the minerals, although it often says its involvement is to protect its territory and punish those connected to the 1994 genocide.

A team of United Nations experts said in a report in December that Rwanda was benefiting from minerals “fraudulently” exported from areas under the control of the M23 rebels. Rwanda denied this.

Although the M23 has touted itself as a group independent of Rwanda and capable of governing territories under its control, it still relies heavily on Kigali. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan troops in eastern Congo.

Peace process

The U.N. and rights groups have accused both sides of committing atrocities and possible war crimes since fighting escalated in January. It includes children being killed in summary executions, the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of children, attacks on hospitals, forced recruitments and disappearance of residents in rebel-held areas.

“We cannot build peace without justice and reparation,” Goma resident Amani Muisa said.

The declaration of principles was the first direct commitment by both sides since the rebels seized two key cities in eastern Congo in a major advance early this year.

The signing sets in motion negotiations for a final peace deal, to be signed no later than Aug. 18. It also reflects provisions of a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed between Congo and Rwanda on June 27.

However, the ink had barely dried on the document signed in Qatar before both sides appeared to contradict each other in interpreting a major highlight of the declaration on whether the rebels will withdraw from seized territories.

Bertrand Bisimwa, an M23 leader, said Saturday on X that the declaration is “not a question of withdrawal but of mechanisms for empowering the state, enabling it to assume its prerogatives and obligations.”

M23 spokesman Lawrence Kanyuka told the Associated Press in a telephone call, “We are in Goma with the population and we are not going to get out.”

But Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the declaration takes into account “the nonnegotiable withdrawal” of the rebels, followed by the deployment of government forces and institutions.

Asadu writes for the Associated Press.