The alleged delay in releasing their prisoners could jeopardize the ongoing peace process, says the M23 rebel movement, which controls large tracts of land in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

With negotiations set to resume in the Qatari capital Doha on August 18, M23, through its permanent secretary Benjamin Mbonimpa, took a tougher stance at a press conference on Friday.

Quoted by the international press, Mbonimpa questioned what will be done in Doha if their prisoners have not yet been released, given that, in principle, the agreement signed in Doha under Qatari mediation provided for an immediate ceasefire.

Mbonimpa, who is part of the negotiating team, said, however, that after the implementation of the Declaration of Principles, the discussions will immediately move on to the signing of an actual agreement.

On the other hand, fighting between the M23 and the Wazalendo self-defense groups, allied to the Congolese army, is intensifying in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

Mbonimpa also said that the M23 will always be on the defensive and blames Kinshasa and its allied forces for the attacks.

In Goma, a city of more than two million inhabitants that was taken over by M23 in January, the hope generated by the signing of the agreement is already beginning to fade.

Tired of the recurring violence, the population wants only one thing: real and lasting peace.