Less than 48 hours after accepting the ceasefire proposal put forward by João Lourenço of Angola, the Kinshasa regime has violated the very agreement it endorsed. DR Congo ruler Felix Tshisekedi has wasted no time showing he has wasted the Angolans’ time.
For observers of the crisis in eastern DR Congo, this comes as no surprise.
From Minembwe, Mikenge, Karingi, and across the High Plateaus of South Kivu, Tshisekedi’s forces and its coalition have continued despite the announced ceasefire. Local communities, particularly in areas inhabited by Banyamulenge civilians, describe ongoing insecurity and fear.
The Tshisekedi army and its allied militia, Wazalendo, FDLR, Burundian forces, and mercenaries have continued to bomb Banyamulenge civilian communities. Meanwhile, the international community remains silent, issuing cautious statements while violence y persists on the ground.
If a ceasefire is declared but bombs continue to fall, what exactly has changed?
This is not the first ceasefire to collapse almost immediately after Tshisekedi endorsed it.
In 2025 alone, at least six ceasefire declarations have been announced under different mediation frameworks, including initiatives linked to Washington and Doha. Yet none have translated into sustained calm on the ground.
The AFC/M23 has openly accused Kinshasa of treating peace agreements as tactical pauses rather than genuine commitments. According to their statements, each ceasefire is followed by renewed offensives, deepening mistrust, and hardening positions.
If previous ceasefires were not implemented, why should the Angolan proposal be any different?
Adding to tensions, General Jules Banza, chief of staff of the Congolese armed forces, recently traveled to Burundi in a secredt coordination for a possible large-scale offensive from Uvira targeting positions held by AFC/M23 in South Kivu, potentially aiming toward Bukavu.
Such moves would signal preparation for escalation rather than de-escalation a stark contradiction to the spirit of a ceasefire.
Under international humanitarian law, deliberate attacks against civilians constitute serious violations that engage individual and state responsibility. Yet accountability mechanisms often move slowly if at all, while civilians continue to suffer.
When ceasefires are signed and broken in rapid succession, the political process itself begins to look like theater. Words lose meaning. Signatures lose weight. Mediators lose leverage.
The Tshisekedi regime has turned instability into a governing method, negotiating externally while escalating internally.
It’s governance as farce, of which Tshilombo is the undisputed world champion.
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