UN special envoy for the Great Lakes, Huang Xia, says after months of fighting and rising tensions across the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the region is enjoying “a fragile ceasefire.”

Mr Huang told the UN Security Council on Wednesday in New York that the region had been enjoying a “fragile ceasefire,” including an improvement in relations between the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda.

The region is plagued by violence from multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, which has been fighting a major campaign against Government troops, backed by the UN Mission (MONUSCO) as part of its vital protection-of-civilians mandate.

According to him, hundreds of civilians have been killed by armed groups, which “continue to sow terror.”

Diplomatic relations have soured between Kinshasa and Kigali over whether the resurgent M23 rebel movement, which originally grew out of a faction of former DRC army officers, is being supported by Rwanda – a charge vehemently denied in Kigali.

Cross-border incidents earlier this year led to a serious risk of escalation and confrontation, the Council heard last month.

“On the military front, a fragile lull has settled in eastern DRC. Days pass without major clashes. Between the DRC army and the March 23 Movement, a fragile ceasefire seems to be holding,” stated the UN envoy. “The deployment of the East African Community Regional Force continues. Undiplomatic exchanges between Kigali and Kinshasa have decreased.”

However, he stressed that “serious risks remain” and the withdrawal of M23 fighters from areas it has recently occupied in the east “remains partial.”

He highlighted the important role of two diplomatic tracks working to produce a negotiated settlement inside and outside the borders of the DRC, the so-called Luanda Process and the Nairobi Process.

“A negotiated political solution, which is being called for by more and more voices, has been slow to materialize,” Mr Huang said. “The risk of renewed fighting remains real,” while local and foreign armed groups in the restive east “spread terror and fuel instability.”