A meeting mediated by Angola in Luanda between the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda culminated in the decision to cease military hostilities as of next week, August 4.

Angola, represented by its President, João Lourenço, was deployed by the African Union to mediate in the armed conflict between the two countries, which has led Rwanda, through its support for the rebel group Movimento 23 (M23), to invade the east of the DRC since the end of 2021.

"The second ministerial meeting between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, held today in Luanda under the mediation of the Republic of Angola, agreed on the establishment of a ceasefire that will enter into force from midnight on August 4, 2024," the Angolan Presidency said.

The agreement comes at a time when a humanitarian truce between the M23 rebels and government forces was due to expire at 11.59pm on August 3.

It is not known whether the ceasefire will extend the truce or whether it will have a broader scope.

The M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, launched an offensive in the mineral-rich province of North Kivu in eastern DRC at the end of 2021 and have since seized large swathes of territory.

The conflict has killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

At the end of 2021, the M23 rebel movement and Rwandan army troops advanced into North Kivu province, where they defeated the Congolese army and its allies, and even created a parallel government in the areas they control.

Until the end of last year, the Rwandan authorities publicly denied having put their army on the side of the M23 rebels, but since the beginning of this year, Kigali has not denied the information.