Congo, Rwanda sign peace deal to end fighting — and help U.S. access critical minerals

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 2:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Congo and Rwanda connected Friday signed a bid woody facilitated by the U.S. to assistance extremity the decades-long deadly warring successful eastbound Congo portion helping the U.S. authorities and American companies summation entree to captious minerals successful the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "an important infinitesimal aft 30 years of war." Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said astatine a quality league that helium was capable to broker a woody for "one of the worst wars anyone's ever seen."

"I was capable to get them unneurotic and merchantability it," Trump said. "And not lone that, we're getting for the United States a batch of the mineral rights from the Congo."

The statement has been touted arsenic an important measurement toward bid successful the Central African federation of Congo, wherever struggle with much than 100 equipped groups, the astir potent backed by Rwanda, has killed millions since the 1990s.

It's besides astatine the bosom of Trump's propulsion to summation entree to captious minerals needed for overmuch of the world's exertion astatine a clip erstwhile the U.S. and China are actively competing for power successful Africa.

Analysts spot the woody arsenic a large turning constituent but don't judge it volition rapidly extremity the fighting. The statement involves provisions connected territorial integrity and a prohibition connected hostilities, arsenic good arsenic the disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state equipped groups.

Peace woody not apt to rapidly extremity the conflict

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel radical is the astir salient equipped radical successful the conflict, and its large beforehand aboriginal this twelvemonth near bodies connected the streets.

With seven million radical displaced successful Congo, the United Nations has called it "one of the astir protracted, complex, superior humanitarian crises connected Earth."

Congo hopes the U.S. volition supply it with the information enactment needed to combat the rebels and perchance get them to retreat from the cardinal cities of Goma and Bukavu, arsenic good as from the full region, wherever Rwanda is estimated to person up to 4,000 troops. Rwanda has said that it's defending its territorial interests and not supporting M23.

M23 rebels person suggested that the statement won't beryllium binding connected them. The rebel radical hasn't been straight progressive successful the planned bid deal, though it has been portion of different ongoing bid talks.

Corneille Nangaa, person of the Congo River Alliance — known by its French acronym AFC — which includes M23, told The Associated Press successful March that nonstop bid talks with Congo tin lone beryllium held if the state acknowledges their grievances and that "anything regarding america which are done without us, it's against us."

An M23 spokesperson, Oscar Balinda, besides echoed those thoughts successful an interrogation with the AP this week, saying the U.S.-facilitated woody doesn't interest the rebels.

Rwanda has besides been accused of exploiting eastbound Congo's minerals, a inclination analysts accidental mightiness marque it hard for Rwanda not to beryllium progressive successful immoderate mode successful the region. Critical minerals are utilized successful smartphones, precocious combatant jets and overmuch more.

A squad of UN experts alleged successful a December study that "fraudulent extraction, commercialized and export to Rwanda of [Congo] minerals benefited some AFC/M23 and the Rwandan economy." Rwanda has denied immoderate engagement successful Congo's minerals.

The woody is besides astatine the bosom of the U.S. government's propulsion to antagonistic China successful Africa. Chinese companies person been for galore years 1 of the cardinal players successful Congo's minerals sector. Chinese cobalt refineries, which relationship for a bulk of the planetary supply, trust heavy connected Congo.

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'Trigger-happy proposition'

Analysts accidental the U.S. committedness mightiness beryllium connected however overmuch entree it has to the minerals being discussed nether abstracted negotiations betwixt the American and Congolese governments.

The mostly untapped minerals are estimated to beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic $24 trillion US by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Christian Moleka, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine the Congolese think-tank Dypol, called the woody a "major turning point" successful the decades-long conflict but said the signing could "in nary mode destruct each the issues of the conflict."

"The existent draught statement ignores warfare crimes and justness for victims by imposing a concern betwixt the unfortunate and the aggressor," helium said. "This seems similar a trigger-happy proposition and cannot found lasting bid without justness and reparation."

In Congo's North Kivu province, the hardest deed by the fighting, immoderate judge that the bid woody volition assistance resoluteness the violence but pass that justness indispensable inactive beryllium served for an enduring bid to instrumentality hold.

"I don't deliberation the Americans should beryllium trusted 100 per cent," said Hope Muhinuka, an activistic from the province. "It is up to america to capitalize connected each we person present arsenic an opportunity."

The struggle tin beryllium traced to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide successful Rwanda, wherever Hutu militias killed betwixt 500,000 and 1 cardinal taste Tutsi, arsenic good arsenic mean Hutus and Twa, Indigenous people. When Tutsi-led forces fought back, astir 2 cardinal Hutus crossed into Congo, fearing reprisals.

Rwandan authorities person accused the Hutus who fled of participating successful the genocide and alleged that elements of the Congolese service protected them. They person argued that the militias formed by a tiny fraction of the Hutus are a menace to Rwanda's Tutsi population.

WATCH | People successful Congo are moving retired of nutrient and water: