Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace deal in Washington aimed at ending decades of devastating conflict between the two neighbours, and potentially granting the US lucrative mineral access.
The deal demands the “disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration” of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo.
Further details are scant and previous peace deals in the region have failed – yet that has not deterred the US and Congolese presidents from framing this as a generational victory.
“This is a great day for Africa and… a great day for the world!,” wrote President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform last week when an initial agreement was reached.
“Another diplomatic success for President Félix Tshisekedi – certainly the most important in over 30 years,” said the Congolese president’s office ahead of Friday’s signing.
The deal was signed by the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers at the US State Department.
There has been talk of Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame going to Washington to meet Trump together, though no date has been fixed.
Decades of conflict escalated earlier this year when M23 rebels seized control of large parts of eastern DR Congo including the regional capital, Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports.
Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians forced from their homes following the recent rebel offensive.
