Eastern DRC ceasefire extended for two weeks, White House confirms

The parties to a ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed to a two-week extension, White House national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Friday.

The ceasefire extension began on Thursday and will continue through December 28, she said.

"The United States ... will continue to use US intelligence and diplomatic resources to monitor compliance to the ceasefire by armed forces and non-state armed groups," she said in a statement.

The deal comes ahead of DRC's December 20 general elections.

The White House had previously announced a 72-hour ceasefire, starting on Monday, which they said applied to armed forces and non-state armed groups occupying certain key transit hubs in eastern DRC.

That initial ceasefire expired and was "broadly" adhered to, US officials said. The new ceasefire, which the US helped facilitate, was expected to apply to roughly the same areas and parties.

DRC accuses Rwanda of backing a rebel group known as the M23, which made a major comeback last year. Rwanda denies this.

Conflict and violence in the eastern DRC is among many concerns weighing on the country ahead of the elections, where other issues include the economy, corruption and mining in the huge Central African country of 95-million people.

Worsening attacks by armed groups have killed thousands and displaced nearly 7-million people, many of whom live in crowded camps without running water, power or reliable access to jobs and food. The UN has described it as one of the world's biggest humanitarian crises.

"Having an election when there is active conflict is not in anyone's interest," the US official said, adding that the US expects elections to go ahead as planned next week.