Renewed clashes have broken out in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between government forces and the M23 rebel group, barely a day after United States President Donald Trump hosted leaders of the DRC and Rwanda in Washington to sign a peace accord aimed at ending decades of conflict.
Both sides traded blame for Friday’s violence. In a statement, the M23 claimed that 23 people were killed and several others injured in bombardments by the Congolese army.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka alleged in a post on X that Congolese forces and their allies carried out “attacks on densely populated areas in North Kivu and South Kivu, using fighter jets, drones, and heavy artillery.” He further claimed that two bombs fired from Burundi on Thursday evening struck near Kamanyola town, killing four people and leaving two seriously wounded.
The Rwandan-backed group, which earlier this year seized Goma and Bukavu — the two largest cities in eastern DRC — is not a party to the US peace deal. A senior M23 official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, said rebel forces had retaken the town of Luberika and shot down a Congolese army drone.
Meanwhile, a DRC army spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that fighting was ongoing along the Kaziba, Katogota and Rurambo axis in South Kivu province. “There is population displacement in Luvungi due to Rwandan Defence Force bombardment. They are bombing blindly,” he said. Rwanda’s army and government officials were not immediately available for comment.
The renewed hostilities come just a day after DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame reaffirmed commitments to a US-brokered agreement reached in June, intended to stabilise the country and attract more Western mining investment.
“We’re settling a war that’s been going on for decades,” President Trump said, touting his administration’s interventions in global conflicts as part of efforts to project US influence and advance business interests.
Analysts, however, argue that while US diplomacy temporarily slowed escalation in eastern DRC, it failed to address underlying issues, with both the DRC and Rwanda yet to fulfil promises made in the June deal.
Friday’s clashes also triggered mass displacement. Phanuel Sindayiheba, a local government official in Rwanda’s Rusizi district, told reporters that more than 700 Congolese nationals — mostly women and children — had crossed into Rwanda. He said the refugees were being sheltered at a transit centre and provided with food and bedding.
Videos circulating on social media showed streams of displaced people heading towards Rwanda through the Bugarama-Kamanyola border post, many carrying belongings and livestock.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 123,600 people were displaced in the DRC between July and October due to armed attacks, clashes, land disputes, and natural disasters.
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