Latest news with #peaceagreement
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal in US after rebel sweep
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth. "Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity," Trump said as he welcomed the two nations' foreign ministers to the White House. "This is a wonderful day." The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma. The deal -- negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office -- does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken. Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The agreement calls for the "neutralization" of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the "irreversible and verifiable end to state support" to the Hutu militants should be the "first order of business." The process would be "accompanied by a lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures," Nduhungirehe said at a signing ceremony at the State Department. But he added: "We must acknowledge that there is a great deal of uncertainty in our region, and beyond, because many previous agreements have not been implemented." His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the agreement's call for respecting state sovereignty. "It offers a rare chance to turn the page, not just with words but with real change on the ground. Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear," she said. The agreement also sets up a joint security coordination body to monitor progress and calls vaguely for a "regional economic integration framework" within three months. - Trump takes credit - Trump has trumpeted the diplomacy that led to the deal, and started his White House event by bringing up a journalist who said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo." The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies, with US rival China now a key player in securing the resources. Trump said he had been unfamiliar with the conflict as he appeared to allude to the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Tutsis, were killed in just 100 days. "I'm a little out of my league on that one because I didn't know too much about it. I knew one thing -- they were going at it for many years with machetes," Trump said. The agreement drew wide but not universal praise. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the deal "a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability" in the eastern DRC and the Great Lakes region. "I urge the parties to honour in full the commitments they have undertaken in the Peace Agreement... including the cessation of hostilities and all other agreed measures," Guterres said in a statement. Germany hailed the "excellent news" and called for implementation. French President Emmanuel Macron also praised the "historic step forward," adding that "peace must hold." But Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC's epidemic of sexual violence in war, voiced alarm about the agreement, saying it effectively benefited Rwanda and the United States. The deal "would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice in order to ensure a precarious and fragile peace," he said in a statement ahead of the signing. Physicians for Human Rights, which has worked in the DRC, welcomed the de-escalation but said the agreement had "major omissions," including accountability for rights violations. sct/jgc/acb/tjx/sco
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Qatar emphasises peaceful resolution of conflicts after DRC-Rwanda deal
Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi has welcomed the peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying that it came after several rounds of talks, some of which were held in Doha. The deal, signed in Washington, DC, on Friday with backing from the United States and Qatar, will see Rwandan soldiers withdraw from the DRC and the two countries set up mechanisms to enhance trade and security cooperation. 'We hope that the sides will adhere to the terms of the agreement to de-escalate and bolster the security and stability of the … region,' al-Khulaifi, who serves as minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Al Jazeera. Al-Khulaifi added that the meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, hosted by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha in March, was followed by a series of talks, paving the way for Friday's deal. 'Qatar enjoys excellent relationships with both countries and has earned the trust of both countries as a mediator and international partner trying to resolve these issues,' he said. 'Doha was a platform for these meetings, and we contributed [to reaching the agreement] with the US.' The Reuters news agency reported earlier this month that Qatar presented a draft peace proposal to Rwanda and the DRC after negotiations in Doha. On Friday, the US Department of State said the US, Qatar, the African Union and Togo 'will continue to engage both parties to ensure implementation of the obligations laid out in the agreement'. The agreement has sparked hopes of ending the conflict in the DRC, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has been advancing in the resource-rich east of the country. The renewed violence had raised fears of igniting a full-blown conflict, akin to the wars that the DRC endured in the late 1990s, involving several African countries, which killed millions of people. 'Qatar fully believes in dialogue as the cornerstone for resolving conflict through peaceful means,' al-Khulaifi said. 'Qatar believes that mediation is a pillar of its foreign policy. That's why, hopefully, you will find Qatar always racing to try to resolve issues between countries, even countries that are geographically far from Qatar.' Qatar has played a key role in securing diplomatic deals in various conflicts across the world over the past years. Most recently, it helped mediate the ceasefire agreement that ended the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. 'What pleases me is that this agreement came days after another agreement which Qatar contributed to with the US – and that's the ceasefire between Iran and Israel,' al-Khulaifi said. 'Qatar will not spare any efforts to engage in more attempts to de-escalate and pursue peaceful means to end these conflicts.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda, DR Congo sign peace deal in US after rebel sweep
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement Friday in Washington to end fighting that has killed thousands, with the two countries pledging to pull back support for guerrillas -- and President Donald Trump boasting of securing mineral wealth. "Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity," Trump said as he welcomed the foreign ministers to the White House. "This is a wonderful day." The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC earlier this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma. The deal -- negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office -- does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end "defensive measures" it has taken. Rwanda has denied directly supporting the M23 but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The agreement calls for the "neutralization" of the FDLR, with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe saying the "irreversible and verifiable end to state support" to the Hutu militants should be the "first order of business." The process would be "accompanied by a lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures," Nduhungirehe said at a signing ceremony at the State Department. But he added: "We must acknowledge that there is a great deal of uncertainty in our region, and beyond, because many previous agreements have not been implemented." His Congolese counterpart, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, highlighted the agreement's call for respecting state sovereignty. "It offers a rare chance to turn the page, not just with words but with real change on the ground. Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear," she said. The agreement also sets up a joint security coordination body to monitor progress and calls vaguely for a "regional economic integration framework" within three months. - Trump takes credit - Trump has trumpeted the diplomacy that led to the deal, and started his White House event by bringing up a journalist who said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking to reporters earlier Friday, Trump said the United States will be able to secure "a lot of mineral rights from the Congo." The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies, with US rival China now a key player in securing the resources. Trump, in an uncharacteristic expression of modesty, said he had been unfamiliar with the conflict as he appeared to allude to the horrors of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Tutsis, were killed in just 100 days. "I'm a little out of my league on that one because I didn't know too much about it. I knew one thing -- they were going at it for many years with machetes," Trump said. The agreement drew wide but not universal praise. Bintu Keita, a senior UN official in the DRC, said it "marks a decisive step toward peace and stability," while Germany hailed the "excellent news" and called for implementation. French President Emmanual Macron also praised the "historic step forward," adding that "peace must hold." But Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC's epidemic of sexual violence in war, voiced alarm about the agreement, saying it effectively benefited Rwanda and the United States. The deal "would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice in order to ensure a precarious and fragile peace," he said in a statement ahead of the signing. Physicians for Human Rights, which has worked in the DRC, welcomed the de-escalation but said the agreement had "major omissions," including accountability for rights violations. sct/jgc/acb
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rwanda, Congo sign U.S.-brokered peace deal in Washington
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more so far this year. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the two countries' foreign ministers at the Department of State in Washington for the signing of the agreement.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump seeks crown as world peacemaker, brokering truce in central Africa
President Donald Trump celebrated a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in an Oval Office ceremony Friday, touting the potential pause in a decades-long conflict as he sought to build his image as a global dealmaker. It was the latest in a flurry of global peacemaking efforts Trump has undertaken to mixed results, working phones and meeting personally with leaders to resolve a conflict between India and Pakistan and wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza. In some cases, including in Iran, a ceasefire has held — but at times he has also projected more optimism than some warring leaders themselves, as was the case Friday in the Oval Office.
