First Doha Detainee Handover Draws Praise, Reciprocity Demands and AFC Calendar Ultimatum

Kinshasa, DRC, August 9, 2026 - Fifteen people freed by Congolese authorities were handed to AFC/M23 on 7 August in the first such transfer since the Doha prisoner mechanism of September 2025. The convoy left Beni on the evening of 6 August, transited Uganda with Ugandan Red Cross ambulance support under Ebola precautions, and reached Rutshuru on the morning of 7 August; the ICRC acted as neutral intermediary. Stephanie Eller of the ICRC in Kinshasa said the operation should ease long-separated families and open the way to further releases. A separate Montreux protocol still covers several thousand Congolese soldiers held by AFC/M23.

Kinshasa’s first official statement presented the release as execution of the 14 September 2025 mechanism, stressed consent, dignity and security, linked it to operationalising the MCVE+ ceasefire verification body, thanked Uganda for transit, and demanded “effective and reciprocal” implementation while accusing Rwanda and AFC/M23 of repeated ceasefire violations. Qatar called the handover an important confidence step and urged further peaceful progress. U.S. senior Africa adviser Massad Boulos welcomed the first Doha prisoner transport, thanked Qatar and the ICRC, and pressed both sides toward full implementation. On 8-9 August AFC/M23, after receiving the fifteen, demanded a complete updated list of remaining detainees and a precise calendar of next releases, while denouncing bombardments of populated areas and reaffirming - on paper - adherence to Doha ceasefire and prisoner protocols even as fighting continued on the ground.