France, Feb. 4 -- The armed group M23 has declared a humanitarian "ceasefire" starting this Tuesday in the volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, while a crisis meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame is also being arranged for Friday.

M23 is a member of the political-military coalition known as the Alliance Fleuve Congo (River Congo Alliance). In a statement released late on Monday, the group announced it would implement a ceasefire from Tuesday "for humanitarian reasons."

It further stated that it had "no intention of taking control of Bukavu or other localities," despite having declared last week its intention to "continue the march" towards the Congolese capital, K...