Keypoints:
- Fresh clashes despite Washington signing
- M23 rebels expand control and blame Kinshasa
- US links peace to joint mining projects
FIGHTING has intensified in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo just hours after US President Donald Trump hosted Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame in Washington to sign new agreements aimed at ending a three-decade conflict in one of the world’s most mineral-rich regions. The ceremony on Thursday reaffirmed commitments made under a US-brokered June accord meant to stabilise eastern Congo and unlock Western mining investment.
Trump presented the agreement as a landmark diplomatic win. ‘We’re settling a war that’s been going on for decades,’ he told attendees, which included the presidents of Angola, Kenya and Burundi. The US president has positioned himself as a peacemaker by intervening in conflicts from the Middle East to Central Africa, arguing that peace aligns with American strategic and commercial interests.
On the ground, the situation remains volatile. Within a day of the Washington ceremony, clashes broke out across South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, deepening a humanitarian crisis that has pushed millions from their homes.
Rebel offensive continues
The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group, which seized eastern Congo’s two biggest cities earlier this year and is not bound by the latest agreement, accused government forces of launching heavy attacks using fighter jets, drones and artillery. Lawrence Kanyuka, an M23 spokesperson, wrote on X that ‘numerous homes have been destroyed, and women as well as children have tragically lost their lives’.
Speaking anonymously to Reuters, a senior M23 figure claimed the group had retaken the town of Luberika and shot down a Congolese army drone. ‘The war continues on the ground and has no connection with the signing of the agreement that took place yesterday,’ the official said.
Congolese military spokespersons confirmed fighting in the Kaziba, Katogota and Rurambo areas of South Kivu and accused Rwandan forces of indiscriminate bombardment. ‘There is population displacement in Luvungi due to Rwandan Defence Force bombardment,’ one said. ‘They are bombing blindly.’ Rwanda did not immediately comment.
Displaced families flee again
Videos shared online showed families walking for miles with livestock and belongings near Luvungi. Reuters was unable to verify the footage, but analysts say such scenes reflect a worsening crisis in areas where displacement has become routine. Millions are already facing severe food shortages after months of fighting severed supply routes and blocked humanitarian access.
M23 has held territory across eastern Congo for nearly a year, defying regional efforts to secure a withdrawal. Its most recent offensive comes at a moment when Washington hoped its intervention could halt the advance and reset relations between Kigali and Kinshasa.
Diplomatic tension exposed
The strained relationship between Tshisekedi and Kagame was evident at the Washington ceremony. The two leaders avoided eye contact, despite standing side by side. Bloomberg reported Trump tried humour, telling the room: ‘Look at them, look at the way they love each other. They’ve spent a lot of time killing each other and now they’re going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically like every other country does.’ The comments drew laughter from some in the audience, though the underlying crisis remained plain.
US officials hope a package of shared energy, mining and infrastructure projects — backed by American private investment — could reshape regional incentives. The theory is that peace will become more profitable than war, particularly in the context of Congo’s vast reserves of cobalt, copper and gold.
Investment before peace?
Yet Tshisekedi has insisted that no joint investment with Rwanda will go ahead until M23 withdraws its forces. Without security guarantees or territorial control, he argues, foreign companies will not risk major capital commitments. Christian-Géraud Neema, a non-resident scholar with the Africa Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Bloomberg that US ambitions may not alter corporate realities. ‘I don’t see the American private sector rushing on the ground, given that they have no guarantee that the peace will take place anytime soon,’ he said.
Trump has described the signing as ‘the eighth war that we’ve ended in less than one year’, a claim that conflicts sharply with developments in eastern Congo. For residents of North Kivu and South Kivu, the declaration offers little comfort. Fighting has escalated, displacement is climbing, and the likelihood of a durable settlement remains uncertain.
For now, Washington’s paper deal appears detached from the realities unfolding in a conflict that has scarred the region for more than thirty years.
