The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed a peace deal aimed at ending the long-running conflict in the region at a summit hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington.
Ahead of the summit, there were renewed clashes in resource-rich eastern DR Congo between government forces and rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda.
DR Congo’s army accused its rivals of attempting to “sabotage” the peace process, but the M23 rebels said the army had launched an offensive in breach of a ceasefire.
At the start of the year, the M23 seized large parts of eastern DR Congo in an offensive that saw thousands killed and many more forced from their homes.
DR Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have frequently exchanged insults in recent years, each accusing the other of starting the conflict.
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At the beginning of the event at the newly-renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, Trump said the peace ceremony was a great day for Africa and the world, later branding it “historic.
“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,” President Trump said.
Peace Accord
Trump got the two countries’ foreign ministers to sign a peace accord in June, hailing it as a “glorious triumph”.
A number of other African leaders also attended the ceremony, including those of Kenya, Angola, Burundi and Togo, as well as the vice-president of Uganda.
At the event, Kagame praised Trump as an “even-handed” leader who is “never taking sides.”
Rwanda’s president described Trump’s approach as pragmatic and said that “as a result, we have the clearest and most viable path forward that we have ever had”.
Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo expressed deep gratitude and clear hope while at the same time saying he hoped Rwanda would respect the letter and spirit of the deal.
The foreign ministers of Qatar and the UAE also were in attendance at this signing – which Trump has dubbed the “Washington Accords” – as was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
However, a day later, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said he would not commit to withdrawing troops from DR Congo, denying that any are there in the first place.
“There is nowhere in any deal that states that Rwanda should withdraw its troops, because we don’t have any troops in eastern DRC,” he said.
The deal says all parties should respect national borders and sovereignty and stop supporting armed groups.
UN experts say Rwanda’s army is in “de facto control of M23 operations”.
Nduhungirehe also said he questioned Congolese commitment to the deal, saying it’s “something that needs to worry the world”.
“It’s as if what the DRC government has signed with its right hand, it doesn’t believe with its heart”, he said, accusing Kinshasa of daily aerial strikes since first agreeing to the deal in June. DR Congo has recently accused Kigali of similar violations, and the UN said Rwandan troops and M23 militia remained on the ground.
The Trump administration spearheaded the talks between DR Congo and Rwanda, hoping that resolving their differences would pave the way for the US to increase investments in the resource-rich region.
At the signing ceremony, Trump said the US would send “some of our biggest and greatest companies over to the two countries.”
“And we’re going to take out the rare earth, take out some of the assets, and pay, “Everybody’s going to make a lot of money,” he added.
BBC/Wumi