Congo fighting flares within hours of Trump peace deal
Conflict continues unabated in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a day after US President Donald Trump hosted Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Washington to sign new agreements aimed at ending years of conflict in the mineral-rich region.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to the US-brokered deal reached in June to stabilize the vast country and pave the way for more Western mining investment.
“We are resolving a war that has been going on for decades,” said Trump, whose administration has intervened in a series of conflicts around the world to burnish its reputation as a peacemaker and advance U.S. business interests.
However, violent clashes on the ground continued on Friday, with warring sides blaming each other.
The Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebel group, which seized the two largest cities in eastern Congo earlier this year and is not bound by the Washington agreement, said forces loyal to the government had carried out widespread attacks.
In its statement, the group said that 23 people were killed and many others were injured in the bombardments targeting towns in the South Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A Congolese army spokesman said the army did not target civilians, but clashes continued and Rwandan forces bombed.
Analysts say U.S. diplomacy has paused escalating conflict in eastern Congo but failed to resolve fundamental problems, with neither Congo nor Rwanda fulfilling promises made in the June agreement.
Videos shared online show dozens of displaced families fleeing on foot with their belongings and animals near the town of Luvungi in Congo’s eastern South Kivu province. Reuters could not immediately confirm the identities of these people.
A Congolese army spokesman confirmed to Reuters that clashes were taking place in the Kaziba, Katogota and Rurambo axis in South Kivu province.
South Kivu’s army spokesman, Reagan Mbuyi Kalonji, told Reuters that the Congolese army was only targeting fighters in the hills above Kaziba and Rurambo.
Spokespeople for the Rwandan military and government could not immediately be reached for comment.
A senior AFC/M23 official told Reuters that rebel forces had retaken the town of Luberika and shot down a Congolese army drone. He asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“The war continues on the ground and has no connection with the agreement signed in Washington yesterday,” he said.
UNICEF said on Friday it was alarmed by clashes that hit three schools and another area near a school in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on December 3 and 4, reportedly killing at least seven children and injuring others.
According to the statement, “In 2025, conflicts have intensified to levels not seen in years, and children, as always, suffer the brunt.”
