The East African Community (EAC) has decided to extend until December the mandate for the presence of its armed forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the M23 rebels are active, according to a communique from the bloc's summit.
The previous extension was due to expire on September 8.
"The heads of state agreed to extend the duration of the mandate of the EACRF [EAC Regional Force] and the status of forces agreement for a further period of three months as from 9th September 2023 to 8th December 2023, pending an evaluation report from the council of ministers," the communique published on Tuesday read.
In June 2022, East African leaders agreed to create a regional force to end the conflict in the eastern DRC. A ceasefire agreement was reached in November, but the M23 group said it had not participated in the talks and would not abide by the agreements.
The M23 movement, which fights for the interests of the Tutsi ethnic minority, suffered a major military defeat in November 2013 and was disbanded. In November 2021, the rebels took up arms again, accusing the DRC authorities of violating agreements to integrate disarmed M23 rebels into the army.