GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo — The Alliance Fleuve Congo/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) freedom fighters has welcomed the release of 15 detainees by authorities in Kinshasa as a positive development in the Doha peace process, while calling for the release of additional people it says remain detained because of actual or suspected connections to the movement.
According to an official AFC/M23 communiqué issued in Goma on August 8, 2026, the 15 individuals were received in Bunagana on August 7 after traveling from Beni through Uganda. The transfer was facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which accompanied the group during the operation.
AFC/M23 expressed appreciation to the ICRC for helping ensure that the detainees traveled safely and with dignity. The movement also thanked Ugandan authorities for facilitating their transit through Uganda before their arrival in Bunagana.
The communiqué said the released individuals had been held at several detention facilities, including Makala Prison, Ndolo Prison and a detention facility associated with the National Intelligence Agency in Kinshasa.
However, AFC/M23 said only nine of the 15 people released were among 768 individuals whose names the movement had previously submitted to mediators as part of negotiations concerning detainees. According to the statement, one of the remaining six was a Ugandan national with no connection to AFC/M23, while five others arrested in locations including Katanga, Ituri and Kinshasa had not appeared on the movement’s original list.
The movement said the development suggests that the 768-person list should not necessarily be regarded as a complete accounting of people detained over alleged connections to AFC/M23. It maintains that additional Congolese citizens have continued to face detention after being accused of supporting or maintaining links with the movement.
AFC/M23 described the latest release as encouraging but insufficient compared with what it considers Kinshasa’s commitments under the prisoner-release arrangements connected to the Doha negotiations. It called for authorities to provide an updated and comprehensive list of detainees awaiting release and a clear timetable for future releases.
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“The action taken today by the Kinshasa regime is encouraging, but remains insignificant in relation to its commitments under the protocol on the release of prisoners,” AFC/M23 said in its August 8 communiqué.
The prisoner issue has become an important confidence-building component of diplomatic efforts seeking to reduce hostilities and establish conditions for a durable political settlement in eastern DRC. AFC/M23 has consistently maintained that the peace process must address not only military questions but also political, security and human-rights concerns affecting communities in the region.
The movement further stated that for nearly a year it has made thousands of captured or disarmed personnel belonging to government-aligned forces, particularly members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and Wazalendo groups, available to the ICRC for possible transfer to Kinshasa. AFC/M23 said Congolese authorities have declined to receive those personnel and expressed concern that the situation could undermine reciprocal implementation of prisoner arrangements. That account reflects AFC/M23’s official position and has not been independently established solely through the communiqué.
AFC/M23 also accused government forces and their allies of intensifying bombardments in recent days, including attacks it said affected densely populated areas and civilians in territories under its control. The movement called for strict observance of ceasefire commitments and other agreements reached through the Qatar-mediated negotiations.
Despite continuing tensions, AFC/M23 said it remains committed to the Doha peace process and emphasized what it described as its responsibility to safeguard civilians in areas under its administration. The movement said its objective remains ensuring “the security, dignity and well-being” of civilian populations while pursuing a negotiated settlement to the conflict.
Lawrence Kanyuka, AFC/M23’s communications department chief and spokesperson, signed the communiqué in Goma. The statement placed renewed responsibility on mediators and participating parties to ensure that commitments concerning prisoners and the ceasefire are translated into concrete measures.
For AFC/M23, which presents its struggle as centered on security, political inclusion, equal citizenship and protection of communities in eastern Congo, the release represents a step forward but not the completion of the prisoner process. Further releases and implementation of negotiated commitments could now serve as an important test of whether the Doha framework can produce reciprocal confidence-building measures and move the parties closer to a sustainable political settlement.
