Every morning the Congolese city of Bukavu, now under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 movement, counts its dead. The M23 had already taken control of another major city in eastern DRC, Goma, at the end of January.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels agreed to a ceasefire in eastern DR Congo until peace talks mediated by Qatar reached their conclusion. This marked the latest truce since the rebels launched a major offensive in January,

Felix Tshisekedi of Congo had long said his country would not negotiate with the Rwanda-backed militia, making the joint agreement a rare bright spot in the conflict.