Fighting flares in DRC hours after Trump-brokered peace deal

Fighting has raged in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a day after US President Donald Trump hosted DRC and Rwandan leaders in Washington to sign new deals aimed at ending years of conflict in a region rich in minerals.

DRC's President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame on Thursday reaffirmed commitments to a US-brokered deal reached in June to stabilise the vast country and open the way for more Western mining investment.

"We're settling a war that's been going on for decades," said Trump, whose administration has intervened in a string of conflicts around the world.

On the ground, however, fierce fighting continued on Friday, with the warring sides blaming one another.

Resolving core issues

The Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebel group, which seized the two largest cities in eastern DRC earlier this year and is not bound by the Washington agreement, said forces loyal to the government were conducting widespread attacks.

The group said in a statement that 23 people were killed and several others wounded in bombardments that targeted towns in South Kivu province in eastern DRC.

A DRC army spokesperson said clashes were ongoing and Rwandan forces were bombing.

Analysts say US diplomacy paused an escalation of fighting in eastern DRC but failed to resolve core issues, with neither DRC nor Rwanda fulfilling pledges made in the June agreement.

Videos shared online showed dozens of displaced families fleeing on foot with their belongings and livestock near the town of Luvungi in South Kivu province in eastern DRC.

"Numerous homes have been destroyed, and women as well as children have tragically lost their lives," wrote Lawrence Kanyuka, the spokesperson for AFC/M23.

Displacement

Forces loyal to the DRC government "continued their relentless attacks on densely populated areas of North Kivu and South Kivu, using fighter jets, drones, and heavy artillery," he wrote on X.

A DRC army spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that clashes were taking place along the Kaziba, Katogota, and Rurambo axis in South Kivu province.

"There is population displacement in Luvungi due to the Rwandan Defence Force bombardment. They are bombing blindly," he said.

Rwanda's army and government spokespersons were not immediately available for comment.

A senior AFC/M23 official told Reuters that rebel forces had retaken the town of Luberika and shot down a DRC army drone.

He requested anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"The war continues on the ground and has no connection with the signing of the agreement that took place yesterday in Washington," he said.