In a long-awaited operation, Democratic Republic of Congo authorities released 15 prisoners and handed them over to rebels from the AFC/M23 movement on Friday. It marks the first known prisoner transfer under a peace deal signed last year to end fighting in the eastern DRC.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated the transfer, 15 detainees left the government-held city of Beni, in the northern part of North Kivu province, in a convoy on Thursday evening.

After travelling through Ugandan territory overnight, they were handed over on Friday morning to AFC/M23 authorities in Rutshuru Territory, in the south of the province.

The transfer took place as part of a peace deal agreed between the government and the rebels in 2025.

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The handover represents one of the first concrete steps in implementing the agreement.

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Slow process

It follows months of talks over how to organise a prisoner exchange.

The two sides signed a protocol on releasing detainees in September 2025. In April 2026, they agreed on a list of nearly 500 prisoners to be exchanged and set a deadline for their transfer by 28 April.

The list included 311 prisoners held by AFC/M23 who were expected to be handed over to the Congolese government, and 166 prisoners held by Kinshasa who were due to be transferred to AFC/M23.

The exchange did not go ahead, with sources involved in the process citing disagreements over legal procedures, the verification of detainees' identities and the conditions required for both sides to release prisoners at the same time.

It is not clear whether the 15 prisoners transferred this week are part of the list negotiated in April or were selected in separate discussions.

AFC/M23 has previously referred to thousands of military prisoners who could be eligible for exchange.

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'Glimmer of hope'

All 15 detainees had consented to the transfer, according to the ICRC, which acted as a neutral intermediary between the DRC government and the rebels.

It said Uganda agreed to facilitate passage and that the operation was carried out in compliance with Ebola prevention measures, amid a growing outbreak in eastern DRC.

Stephanie Eller, head of operations for the ICRC in Kinshasa, said in a statement: "We hope that this operation will help bring relief to families long separated from their loved ones and pave the way for further releases - as agreed upon by the parties in various negotiations - thereby offering a glimmer of hope to populations affected by armed conflict."

Over the past five years, the M23 armed group has seized territory in eastern DRC. Congo, the United Nations and several Western countries have repeatedly accused neighbouring Rwanda of supporting the insurgency with troops and weapons, which Kigali denies.

M23 and its political arm, the AFC, signed a US-brokered peace agreement with Kinshasa last December, but fighting has continued.

(with newswires)