Félix Tshisekedi agrees to observe Angola-proposed ceasefire

In a statement issued on February 13, 2026, the presidency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said the ceasefire requires both the government and the AFC/M23 coalition to remain in their current positions, halt reinforcements in conflict zones, refrain from repositioning forces for attacks, and stop receiving external support.

The presidency warned that attempts to expand positions or any actions violating the ceasefire monitoring framework, established under an agreement signed in Doha, Qatar on October 15, 2025, would undermine progress already made.

The Angola government proposed that the ceasefire take effect on February 18, two days after Lourenço hosted Tshisekedi alongside mediators appointed by the African Union, including Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Despite Tshisekedi’s acceptance, the Congolese government has previously been accused of violating ceasefires agreed with the AFC/M23 coalition and breaching signed peace accords, often intensifying military operations to retake lost territory.

Each time Congolese forces reportedly broke ceasefire terms, AFC/M23, citing its principle of “eliminating threats at their source”, responded with force and captured additional areas, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, among other strategic locations.

On February 12, Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, expressed skepticism about the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) willingness to honor a new ceasefire proposed by Angola, noting that Kinshasa has so far shown no political will.

“We can stack peace agreements or ceasefire declarations endlessly, but as long as Kinshasa shows no political will to stop its air and artillery attacks, as long as President Tshisekedi remains fixated on impossible military solution, and as long as the international community continues to turn a blind eye to Kinshasa’s actions, which violate all these agreements, it will be in vain,” he shared on X.

The AFC/M23 coalition has not yet commented on Angola’s ceasefire proposal, though it has repeatedly stated that political dialogue is the only viable path to ending the conflict in eastern DRC.