A high-stakes peace deal is taking center stage in Washington as President Donald Trump hosts the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, even while renewed fighting on the ground threatens to overshadow the diplomatic breakthrough. Trump presides over the signing ceremony Thursday alongside Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan president Paul Kagame, aiming to end three decades of brutal conflict in eastern DR Congo.
Despite the upcoming ceremony, violence surged again this week in South Kivu. Local officials reported that the M23 armed group, backed by Kigali, clashed with Congolese forces supported by militias. “Many houses have been bombed and there are many dead,” René Chubaka Kalembire told Agence France-Presse (AFP) from Kaziba, a town now under M23 control. Hostilities have persisted even after the two nations signed an earlier agreement in June under Trump’s sponsorship.
Both Congolese authorities and M23 accuse each other of violating ceasefire commitments made during a Qatar-led mediation. The M23 has gained ground for weeks, continuing a campaign that escalated in January with the capture of Goma and Bukavu. Multiple ceasefires have collapsed since the group resumed operations in 2021, triggering mass displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis.
Trump welcomed the two presidents to the White House before the ceremony at the American Institute for Peace—renamed the “Donald Trump Institute for Peace.” The agreement includes a peace framework, regional economic integration, and a strategic minerals partnership with the United States. Spokeswoman Tina Salama emphasized that disarmament and integration of armed groups would occur on an “individual” basis and rejected any idea of “peace for minerals.”
Trump has highlighted the strategic importance of Congo’s mineral wealth, including cobalt and coltan essential to Western supply chains often dominated by China. Salama maintained Kinshasa’s sovereignty over its resources, while noting uncertainty over whether Washington might seek additional terms. Rwanda has already concluded a migration agreement with the United States.
