Days after signing a peace deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of violating the agreement.
Days after signing a peace deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday accused Rwanda of violating it.
Tshisekedi said that Rwanda was “violating its commitments” under the peace deal.
Congo and Rwanda signed the Trump-brokered agreement on Thursday (4 December) at the White House in his presence. The deal was aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo where the Rwanda-backed armed group M23 has been fighting the Congolese government.
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However, fresh fighting erupted the very next day and Tshisekedi has now formally announced the deal’s violation.
“Despite our good faith and the recently ratified agreement, it is clear that Rwanda is already violating its commitments. On the very day after the [peace accord] signing, units of the Rwandan defence forces carried out and supported attacks with heavy weaponry,” said Tshisekedi, according to Associated Press.
Tshisekedi was referring to attacks by Rwandan forces in several locations in South Kivu province in recent days.
The Rwanda–Congo deal is at least the second peace agreement brokered by Trump that has unravelled. In another example,
Thailand and Cambodia have also returned to cross-border fighting despite signing a Trump-brokered deal.
In his pursuit of a Nobel peace prize, Trump has claimed to have brokered various peace agreements. While his deals in the Rwanda–Congo and Thailand–Cambodia conflicts have fallen apart, he has also falsely taken credit for bringing India and Pakistan to a ceasefire when India launched Operation Sindoo