Qatar's chief negotiator watches as representatives from Congo and M23 shake hands. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images Goma, Congo AP —

Congo and Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 on Saturday signed a framework agreement for a peace deal, the latest step in the so far unsuccessful efforts to end the decades-long conflict in eastern Congo.

Earlier this year, M23 seized Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in eastern Congo, in a major escalation of the conflict.

Backed by neighboring Rwanda, M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east. With 7 million people displaced, the conflict in Congo has been described by the United Nations as “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

The agreement sign

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