The convoy carrying the released detainees left Beni, in the north of North Kivu province, on the evening of 6 August. It crossed into Uganda, which had agreed to allow passage, before arriving in Rutshuru Territory on the morning of 7 August, where the group was formally handed over to the Congo River Alliance/March 23 Movement.
All fifteen people involved in the operation had consented to take part, the ICRC said in a statement issued from Goma. The agency added that the movement was coordinated with health authorities and carried out in strict compliance with Ebola prevention measures, given the ongoing outbreak affecting parts of eastern Congo. A Uganda Red Cross ambulance accompanied the convoy in case of medical emergencies.
Stephanie Eller, head of operations for the ICRC in Kinshasa, said the operation would bring comfort to families long separated from loved ones. She added that it could pave the way for further releases agreed by the parties during negotiations, offering some hope to communities affected by the fighting in eastern Congo.
Observers said the DRC prisoner release could help rebuild confidence between the parties and encourage further humanitarian measures under the ongoing peace process.
According to Rwanda Tribune, the fifteen individuals had already been moved from prisons in Kinshasa to Beni more than a month earlier, where they waited to be handed over. The outlet reported that Congolese authorities had clarified none of those released had previously been sentenced to death.
This latest DRC prisoner release forms part of the wider Doha peace process, under which Kinshasa and AFC/M23 signed the Mechanism for the Liberation of Detainees in September 2025. The framework has faced repeated delays since then, largely due to mutual distrust between the two sides.
In March, AFC/M23 said it had handed over more than five thousand captured Congolese soldiers to the ICRC as a goodwill gesture. Weeks later, their repatriation to Kinshasa had still not taken place, with the rebel group accusing the government of stalling while officials cited logistical and security concerns.
Talks in Montreux, Switzerland, in April produced a joint statement in which both parties recommitted to releasing prisoners within ten days, consistent with the September 2025 mechanism.
The statement thanked the ICRC for compiling verified lists of detainees and credited Qatar, the United States, Switzerland, Togo and the African Union Commission for supporting the process. The DRC prisoner release was welcomed by diplomats as a confidence-building measure.
The ICRC stressed that it acts purely as a neutral intermediary in the Doha Process, responding only to requests from the parties regarding the safe transport and handover of people they have agreed to release. It pointed to a similar operation in May 2025, when it accompanied convoys from Goma to Kinshasa carrying several hundred disarmed soldiers and police officers along with their families.
The agency reiterated that under international humanitarian law, detainees must be treated humanely at all times, and that all necessary measures must be taken to protect their safety during release operations.
While modest in scale, the DRC prisoner release highlights the role of neutral intermediaries in advancing agreements that have often faced delays and setbacks.
Eastern Congo has endured years of conflict involving AFC/M23 and government forces, with millions displaced and repeated ceasefire violations reported by both sides since fighting escalated. The latest prisoner handover, while limited in scale, is being read by mediators as a modest but tangible step in a peace process that has often struggled to translate agreements into action on the ground.
