
DR Congo, M23 rebels sign deal in Qatar to end fighting in eastern Congo
The declaration was signed on Saturday between representatives from both sides in Doha.
The DRC and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been engaged in heavy fighting, spurred by M23's bloody January assault and capture of the DRC's two largest cities.
The decades-long conflict has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with M23 made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi fighters.
More to come…

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Al Jazeera
14 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
India claims to have killed all suspects of Kashmir's Pahalgam attack
India's Home Minister Amit Shah has said three suspected rebels killed in Indian-administered Kashmir were responsible for the April killings of tourists in the disputed region's Pahalgam that led to an intense military conflict with Pakistan. The minister's comments came on Tuesday, a day after the heavily-armed suspects were killed in a joint operation by the military, paramilitary and police on the outskirts of Kashmir's main city of Srinagar. 'I want to tell the Parliament, those who attacked in Baisaran were three terrorists and all three have been killed,' said Shah, referring to the area near the Kashmiri town of Pahalgam where 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists, were shot dead on April 22. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, a charge Islamabad denied, leading to an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides. Shah said all three were Pakistani nationals and identified two of them as members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based armed group. 'Indian security agencies have detailed evidence of their involvement in the attack,' Shah said in a speech in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. Monday's operation took place in the mountains of Dachigam, about 30km (18 miles) from Srinagar, the army said in a statement. Shah said a security meeting was held immediately after the attack, and it was decided that the attackers should not be 'allowed to leave the country and return to Pakistan'. Investigators relied on witness accounts and forensic evidence to establish that the rifles found on the men were the same ones that were used in the April attack, he said. 'It was confirmed that these three rifles were involved in the killing of our innocent civilians,' said Shah. Retracted claim of responsibility All those killed in the April attack were listed as residents of India except one man from Nepal. Survivors said the attackers had separated the men from the women and children and ordered some of them to recite the Muslim declaration of faith. Another armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility for the attack. But as public criticism mounted over the killings, it retracted the claim. Earlier this month, the United States designated TRF as a 'foreign terrorist organisation'. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, and the neighbours – who both claim the region in full – have fought two wars and several conflicts over its control. Since 1989, Kashmiri rebels have been fighting against Indian rule, demanding independence or the region's merger with Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of backing the violence, but Islamabad says it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination.


Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Thailand accuses Cambodia of ceasefire violations but truce still holding
Thailand's army has accused Cambodia of violating an hours-old truce, saying that sporadic clashes continued despite an agreement to end the deadly fighting in the disputed border region between the two Southeast Asian countries. Thai troops have retaliated 'appropriately' and in 'self-defence', Thailand's army spokesman, Winthai Suvaree, said in a statement on Tuesday. 'At the time the agreement took effect, the Thai side detected that Cambodian forces had launched armed attacks into several areas within Thai territory,' Winthai said. 'This constitutes a deliberate violation of the agreement and a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust,' he added. 'Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defence.' Following peace talks in Malaysia, both Cambodia and Thailand agreed that an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight on Monday to end the fighting in disputed zones along their 800km (500-mile) border, which killed at least 38 people in five days of clashes and displaced nearly 300,000 more. Acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai played down the reported ceasefire violations, and said he had spoken with Cambodia's defence minister ahead of scheduled talks between military commanders from both countries on Tuesday morning. 'There is no escalation,' Phumtham told reporters. 'Right now, things are calm,' he said. Maly Socheata, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Ministry of National Defence, said in a briefing that there had been no fighting along the border since the agreement in Malaysia. The truce deal was set to see military commanders from both sides meet at 7am local time (00:00 GMT) on Tuesday, before a cross-border committee is convened in Cambodia to further ease tensions on August 4 . A Thai army spokesman said those talks were rescheduled for 10am local time (03:00 GMT), but then later told the Reuters news agency that the meeting had been postponed with no new time set. Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng, reporting from Surin province in Thailand, said the Thai military reported 'a couple of clashes in several areas along the border'. 'They did issue a statement saying that the Cambodian military was not respecting the ceasefire agreement. But for the most part, it does seem to be holding,' Cheng said. In Cambodia's Samraong city, 20km (12.4 miles) from the border with Thailand, an AFP journalist said the sound of blasts stopped in the 30 minutes leading up to midnight on Monday, with the lull continuing until dawn. 'The front line has eased since the ceasefire at 12 midnight,' Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Tuesday morning message on Facebook. Al Jazeera's Barnaby Lo, reporting from the Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia, said local people reported not hearing 'any exchange of fire overnight and this morning'. A joint statement from both countries on Monday – as well as Malaysia, which hosted the peace talks – said the ceasefire was 'a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security'. The flare-up in cross-border fighting has been the deadliest since violence raged sporadically from 2008 to 2011 over disputed border territory.


Al Jazeera
20 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
The Take: What is the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia?
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a ceasefire after clashes along their disputed border, home to centuries-old temples and decades-old tensions. The conflict is tied to political dynasties, shifting alliances and the growing influence of China. Can this ceasefire hold? In this episode: Tony Cheng (@TLCBkk), Al Jazeera correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé and Sarí el-Khalili, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Marya Khan, Kisaa Zehra, Melanie Marich, Julia Muldavin, Diana Ferrero and our guest host, Natasha del Toro. It was edited by Kylene Kiang. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube