HIBAPRESS
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the end of a decades-long war between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, with the two countries entering a new phase based on peace.
The peace agreement signing ceremony took place in Washington, in the presence of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, in a move aimed at ending the ongoing violence in eastern Congo, which has witnessed armed conflict for nearly three decades. The region has been subjected to a dangerous escalation since January, after the M23 movement took control of the main cities of Goma and Bukavu, despite previous ceasefire agreements, which were often violated since the armed group resumed its activities in 2021. The conflict has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands and created a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Rwanda asserts that its security has long been threatened by armed groups, most notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, founded by former leaders of the Hutu tribes associated with the 1994 genocide, stressing that lifting defense measures is linked to neutralizing these groups. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest country in Africa and the world's largest producer of cobalt, and it also contains about 60% of the world's reserves of coltan, a strategic mineral for the electronics and electric car battery industries.
