Political leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed a peace deal at a summit in Washington hosted by US President Donald Trump on Thursday [4th December].
The deal, which aims to end the conflict between the two nations that has been ongoing since 2022, has been branded “historic” by Trump.
The presidents of both the DR Congo and Rwanda have expressed gratitude to Trump for his role in the peace process.
However, analysts have said that the summit saw the endorsement of an agreement that had already been made in June and has since failed to put an end to the conflict.
Fighting in the mineral-rich east of the DR Congo reignited just a day after the peace deal was signed, with both sides blaming the other for renewed hostilities.
The Background to the Congo Conflict
The DR Congo has endured conflict for over 30 years since the 1994 Rwandan genocide when around 800,000 people were killed, most of whom were ethnic Tutsis killed by ethnic Hutu extremists.
The genocide ended when a force of Tutsi-led rebels advanced, causing an estimated one million Hutus to flee across the border into what is now the DR Congo, increasing ethnic tensions.
Various armed groups have fought with central authorities to gain control over the mineral-rich east of the DR Congo and neighbouring countries have been brought into the instability.
Fighting intensified at the beginning of 2025, when a rebel group called M23 led by ethnic Tutsis majorly advanced across the east.
The group claimed they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of Tutsis as a minority group.
It is widely believed that Rwanda is backing the M23, including by the DR Congo, US, UK and France.
Image: Secretary Rubio Participates in a U.S.-Democratic Republic of the Congo Strategic Partnership Agreement Signing Ceremony – Freddie Everett / US State Department
Before the US summit, there were clashes in the eastern DR Congo between government forces and M23 rebels.
The DR Congo government blamed M23 rebels for trying to “sabotage” the peace process, but the rebels argued the army had launched an offensive that had breached a ceasefire.
DR Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have frequently insulted each other in recent years and blame the other for beginning the conflict.
At the signing ceremony on Thursday, the two did not publicly shake hands.
Trump’s comments
However, at the beginning of the event at the newly renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, Trump said that the peace deal ceremony was a “great day” for Africa.
He said “I have a lot of confidence in both leaders.
“We’ll keep these commitments. I know they’re going to keep them and follow through on the agreement and create a much brighter future for the people of their countries.”
Journalists pointed out that he had mispronounced the names of both central African presidents.
A peace accord was agreed in June between foreign ministers of both countries, which Trump described as a “glorious triumph”.
Image: President Donald Trump addresses the nation at Mar-a-Lago – Daniel Torok / The White House
Trump has dubbed the signing ceremony on Thursday the “Washington Accords”.
Various African leaders attended the ceremony, including from Kenya, Angola, Burundi, Togo and Uganda.
US secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with foreign ministers of Qatar and the UAE, was also present.
Kagame described Trump as an “even-handed” leader who is “never taking sides”, praising him for his pragmatic approach.
He said “as a result, we have had the clearest and most viable path forward that we have ever had”.
Tshisekedi also had praise for the US president, declaring “deep gratitude and clear hope”, while asserting that he hoped Rwanda would “respect the letter and spirit of the deal”.
Image: Secretary Rubio Participates in US-Rwanda Framework for Shared Economic Prosperity Signing Ceremony – Freddie Everett / US State Department
However, a day after the deal, the Foreign Minister of Rwanda, Olivier Nduhungirehe said that he wouldn’t commit to the withdrawal of troops from DR Congo.
He also denied there were any troops in the region: “There is nowhere in any deal that states that Rwanda should withdraw its troops, because we don’t have any troops in eastern DRC”.
The deal says that all parties should respect national borders and sovereignty and stop supporting armed groups.
Experts from the UN say that the Rwandan army has “de facto control of M23 operations”.
Featured Image via US State Department.
