Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement on Friday in Washington to end the conflict that has claimed thousands of lives. As part of the deal, both nations committed to withdrawing support for guerrilla groups. President Donald Trump hailed the agreement, highlighting it as a step toward securing the region’s valuable mineral resources.
"Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity," Trump said as he welcomed the two nations' foreign ministers to the White House. "This is a wonderful day," News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma.
The deal — negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office — does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken.
Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The agreement calls for the "neutralization" of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the "irreversible and verifiable end to state support" to the Hutu militants should be the "first order of business."
