M23 leader says the rebel alliance is not bound by a call for a ceasefire made by the DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, in Doha.

The leader of a rebel alliance that has seized swathes of east Congo told Reuters on Thursday that insurgents were not bound by a ceasefire call from Congo and Rwanda's presidents and cast any minerals-for-security deal with the U.

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels battling Congo’s army captured another strategic town in the country's mineral-rich east, residents and insurgents said Thursday, despite ceasefire calls this week by

The meeting took place one week after Washington said it was open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo. A Congolese lawmaker in February contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal. A presidency statement described Jackson as a "special envoy" for U.S. President Donald Trump.

The presidents of Congo and Rwanda have met in Qatar for their first direct talks since Rwandan-backed M23 rebels seized two major cities in mineral-rich eastern Congo earlier this year.

The presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda — which is backing a rebel siege in mineral-rich eastern Congo — pledged to ease tensions following a surprise meeting in Qatar on Tuesday.