NIGERIAN MILITARY JET CRASHES IN NIGER. (PHOTO).
The presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are set to travel to Washington next week to sign a peace deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, sources say, as the U.S. seeks to mediate peace in eastern Congo and encourage Western investment in the region’s mineral-rich areas. The meeting is scheduled for December 4, according to diplomatic sources and a spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. Representatives for Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Washington talks aim to build on a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed by the countries’ foreign ministers in June, along with a Regional Economic Integration Framework agreed earlier this month. The leaders are expected to ratify both agreements. Security measures outlined in the June deal—including operations to neutralize Congo-based armed group FDLR and the withdrawal of Rwandan troops—have seen little progress on the ground. Despite Rwanda’s denial of backing the M23 rebel group, U.N. experts reported that Rwanda maintains command and control over the rebels. Tshisekedi emphasized that full regional economic integration depends on the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from eastern Congo.
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