Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance | International Affairs
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DR Congo, M23 fighters agree roadmap for peace talks.
Peace Talks
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group have agreed on a roadmap for peace talks
The eastern DRC has been riven by decades of conflict, with multiple armed groups fighting over its mineral-rich territory.
M23 has seized swathes of the region last year.
The two sides signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement late last year in the Qatari capital Doha, but fighting has continued.
The talks also included representatives from the United States, Qatar, Switzerland, the African Union Commission and Togo, serving as African Union mediator.
About M23
March 23 Movement is abbreviated as M23.
It is also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army.
It is a predominantly Tutsi rebel group.
It is a Rwandan-backed Congolese rebel paramilitary group.
It is based in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It operates mainly in the provinces of North and South Kivu, which border Uganda and Rwanda.
The 1994 Genocide: After Hutu extremists killed roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, a Tutsi-led rebel force took power.
Rwanda (led by a Tutsi government) faces accusations from the UN and DRC of backing M23 troops and firepower.