The leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have formalised a peace deal in Washington at a summit hosted by US President Donald Trump, though fresh violence raises questions about the accord aimed at ending one of Africa's longest wars.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, the longtime president of Rwanda, officially signed the "Washington Agreements for Peace and Stability" in the US capital on Thursday, nearly a year after they failed to make a similar joint declaration in Angola.
President Trump said the peace ceremony, held at the newly renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, was a "great day" for Africa and the world.
The African leaders took a more cautious tone, as fighting raged in eastern DRC where the M23 armed group – which the UN says is backed by Rwanda – has been gaining ground in recent weeks against Kinshasa's forces.
There was no official handshake at the ceremony and the agreement contains no binding mechanism.
'Diplomatic coup'
Kagame praised Trump as an "even-handed" leader who is "never taking sides". "If this agreement were to fail, it would be our fault," he said. "It's up to us, Africa, to work to consolidate this peace."
Tshisekedi expressed "deep gratitude and clear hope", pointing to the "beginning of a new path, a demanding path". He said his country remained "vigilant, but not pessimistic".
Zobel Behalal from the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime told RFI that Trump had "pulled off a major diplomatic coup".
"He has succeeded in bringing to Washington two heads of state who have not met for a long time. But he was the only one in the room who was happy," said Behalal, who formerly coordinated the United Nations' expert panel on DRC.
The two African leaders showed their "lack of commitment" and "lack of enthusiasm for signing these agreements", he said.
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Three-pronged deal
The pact builds on months of peace efforts by the US, the African Union and Qatar, and finalises an agreement first signed in June.
It brings together peace and economic deals, as well as bilateral agreements between each country and the US.
The peace sections reiterate texts already signed in recent months to "bring an end to one of the oldest conflicts in the world", according to Trump. Its security package incorporates a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces and provisions to allow refugees to return home.
The economic aspect is aimed kicking off "a new era of harmony and cooperation" between Kinshasa and Kigali by addressing the opacity of critical mineral supply chains.
Two bilateral agreements – one between Kinshasa and Washington and the other between Kigali and Washington – both open up new opportunities for the US to access critical minerals.
Trump has promised to send big American companies to both countries.
"We're going take out some of the rare earth," Trump said. "And everybody's going to make a lot of money."
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Fighting continues
Even as the agreement was signed, clashes between rebels and the Congolese army were reported across South Kivu province in the eastern DRC.
"When we look at the situation on the ground today, with continuing clashes between the M23 and the Congolese army, we have major concerns," Behalal said. "Unfortunately, the people of eastern DRC won't be waking up tomorrow, or next week, with a slightly calmer horizon."
Eastern Congo has endured years of conflict between government forces and more than 100 different armed groups, most notably M23 rebels, which Rwanda denies backing.
The conflict worsened this year as M23 captured the major cities of Goma and Bukavu, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis.
M23 was not part of the Congo-Rwanda deal and took part in separate, Qatar-mediated talks with Congo instead.
The US-brokered deal comes as both DRC and Rwanda are in talks with the Trump administration on taking in migrants amid the president's sweeping deportation drive.
(with newswires)
