Just days after a US-brokered peace deal was signed with much fanfare in Washington, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its volatile eastern region have been plunged back into chaos. The agreement, signed on December 4, 2025, by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, was hailed by President Donald Trump as a “great day for Africa, a great day for the world.” Yet, within hours, fighting erupted anew, with Rwandan-backed M23 rebels launching a major offensive that has sent shockwaves through the region and the international community scrambling to respond.
According to AP, the ink was barely dry on the Washington peace accord when M23 fighters began pushing toward the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu province. Local authorities reported on December 9 that the rebels had reached the outskirts of Uvira, sparking panic among residents. Marafiki Masimango, a civil society representative, described the scene: “If the remaining soldiers put up much resistance, then there’s a risk of a massacre, and many people will perish.” Some government soldiers reportedly fled, fearing the worst as the rebels advanced. John Kashwinze, secretary to the mayor, denied that M23 had entered the city, but the situation remained tense and uncertain.
The humanitarian toll has been staggering. The United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 residents have been displaced since December 2, with over 70 reported killed. The conflict has spilled across borders, with thousands of civilians fleeing into neighboring Burundi and reports of shells landing in the Burundian town of Rugombo. The International Contact Group for the Great Lakes—a coalition including the United States, European Union, and several European nations—issued a joint statement expressing “profound concern” about the violence and warning that the fighting near the Burundi border “risks destabilizing the whole region.”
The peace deal signed in Washington was supposed to mark a turning point. It built on earlier negotiations in Qatar and was intended to halt years of bloodshed in the mineral-rich eastern Congo, where more than 100 armed groups, most notably the Rwandan-backed M23, vie for control. The agreement required Rwanda to halt support for armed groups and for both sides to work toward ending hostilities. Yet, as Al Jazeera reported, President Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of violating the deal almost immediately, alleging that Rwandan forces had carried out attacks in South Kivu “on the very day after the signing.” Rwanda, for its part, denied backing M23 and dismissed the accusations as “ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, the M23 offensive has continued unabated. Military and security sources told France 24 that the rebels entered Uvira—one of the last major urban centers in South Kivu still under government control—sending thousands fleeing for safety. The use of attack and suicide drones in the conflict has also raised alarm, representing a significant escalation with acute risks for civilians, according to the international coalition’s statement.
The violence has not been confined to Congo alone. The Burundi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it described as a Rwandan attack on its soil near Cibitoke, which wounded two people, including a 12-year-old child. Reports have also emerged of Congolese and allied Burundian troops seeking refuge inside Burundi as M23 advanced. In the towns of Luvungi and Sange, further north, intense fighting and apparent bomb or grenade attacks left at least 36 people dead, according to Reuters.
The United States has responded with a mix of concern and diplomatic pressure. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged an immediate cessation of hostilities and called for all parties to return to the de-escalatory measures outlined in the October 26, 2025, Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords—a separate pact meant to end fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, which has also recently unraveled. The US State Department said it was “deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in eastern DRC, driving displacement and inflicting suffering on countless families.” A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that the US is “monitoring the situation, including areas where actions on the ground do not yet align with the commitments made,” and that President Trump expects “immediate results.”
President Trump himself, never shy about his self-proclaimed peacemaking abilities, expressed confidence at a rally in Pennsylvania: “Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call. Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’” Yet, as of this week, both the Congo-Rwanda and Cambodia-Thailand peace initiatives are faltering. In Southeast Asia, fighting erupted again along the Cambodia-Thailand border, leaving dozens dead and forcing the evacuation of over 100,000 civilians, despite the recent Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.
The international community’s alarm is palpable. The joint statement from the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes—including Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the European Union—urged all sides “to uphold their commitments” and “immediately de-escalate the situation.” The statement specifically called for the M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to halt their offensive operations in South Kivu and for the RDF to withdraw from eastern DRC. It also demanded that M23 return to its positions as stipulated in multiple agreements, including the one signed in Washington.
The stakes are enormous. The conflict in eastern Congo is already one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced, according to officials. The mineral wealth of the region—vital for global supply chains—adds another layer of complexity to the crisis. The US-brokered agreement even included an economic component aimed at securing American access to critical minerals, a detail not lost on observers skeptical of the deal’s prospects for lasting peace.
For now, the people of eastern Congo and neighboring countries are left to endure the consequences of failed diplomacy and renewed violence. As the international community scrambles for solutions and leaders trade accusations, the reality on the ground remains grim: families uprooted, cities under siege, and the promise of peace slipping further from reach.
In a region all too familiar with broken promises and dashed hopes, the latest surge in violence is a sobering reminder that the path to peace is never as simple as a signature on a page—even when the world is watching.
