DRC and Rwanda Sign Peace Deal To End Decades-Long Conflict

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a US-brokered peace agreement over the weekend in a bid to end decades of violence in the eastern Congo, a deal widely seen as opening the region’s mineral wealth to American investment, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Signed Friday in Washington, the deal commits both countries to “immediately and unconditionally cease any state support to nonstate armed groups” and to pursue the “disengagement, disarmament, and integration” of those forces. 

The two neighbors also pledged to respect territorial integrity and halt cross-border aggression.  

US President Donald Trump hailed the accord – mediated by the US and Qatar – as the end of years of conflict in the restive region and the beginning of “a new chapter of hope and opportunity.” 

Rwanda is expected to withdraw troops deployed in eastern Congo, where more than 4,000 Rwandan soldiers had backed the M23 rebel group with advanced weaponry, having invaded the region in January, according to United Nations investigators.  

The decades-long conflict dates back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which more than a million people – mainly ethnic Tutsis – were killed by ethnic Hutus. The Rwandan government and M23 fighters say they are protecting Tutsis in eastern Congo from Hutu-linked militias made up of former Rwandan army members who fled across the border after the genocide. 

Rwanda has denied backing the M23 rebels and accuses the DRC of supporting the Hutu-affiliated groups. The Congolese government has rejected the allegations. 

In 2025 alone, the outbreak of violence since January has killed more than 7,000 people and displaced about half a million more. 

Friday’s deal follows a series of battlefield losses by the Congolese army in the resource-rich eastern provinces, prompting Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi to turn to the US for help in return for mining opportunities. 

Analysts said the deal aligns with US aims to counter Chinese dominance in global supply chains for minerals, such as coltan and other resources vital to the global tech industry. 

The accord also coincided with separate US negotiations with Rwanda over taking in non-citizen migrants expelled from the US. 

Meanwhile, reaction to the peace deal has been mixed, with observers noting that its durability remains questionable because many local leaders and affected groups were not part of the negotiations, the BBC added. 

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila dismissed it as “nothing more than a trade agreement” and criticized the absence of M23 representatives.