WASHINGTON/GOMA — US President Donald Trump hosted his counterparts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda on Thursday, as they signed a peace deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict in eastern DR Congo and opened their critical mineral resources to the US.

Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of the DR Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda signed the deal at a ceremony held at the US Institute of Peace, which the State Department had renamed "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace" the day before.

Analysts say Thursday's deal isn't expected to lead to peace quickly. Fighting raged in eastern DR Congo on Friday, a day after the new deal.

Eastern DR Congo has been gripped by decades of conflict, compounded by the M23 rebels' resurgence since late 2021. The DR Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the group, an allegation the latter denies.

The DR Congo military and the M23 rebels on Tuesday traded accusations of violating a ceasefire in the country's east, with each side blaming the other for fresh attacks despite international mediation.

Fighting continued this week in the conflict-battered region, with pockets of clashes reported between the rebels and DR Congo's soldiers.

In rebel-held Goma, which had around 2 million people and was a regional hub for security and humanitarian efforts before this year's escalation of fighting, the international airport is still closed, government services such as bank operations are yet to resume and residents have reported a surge in crimes and in the prices of goods.

The hardship in the aftermath of the conflict has worsened following US funding cuts that were crucial to aid support during the conflict.

'Still at war'

"We are still at war," said Amani Chibalonza Edith, a 32-year-old resident of Goma, eastern DR Congo's key city seized by rebels early this year. "There can be no peace as long as the front lines remain active."

"We are waiting to see what will happen because so far, both sides continue to clash and attack each other," said Moise Bauma, a 27-year-old student in rebel-held Bukavu city.

At the ceremony, Trump also announced US bilateral agreements with the two African countries, under which US companies will gain access to the region's critical minerals, which are essential to manufacturing fighter jets, cellphones and more.

"And we'll be involved with sending some of our biggest and greatest US companies over to the two countries," Trump said.

The current violence has its roots in colonial-era policies, where Western rulers enforced ethnic divisions between indigenous Hutu and Tutsi. The divisions fueled the 1994 Rwandan genocide and led to a series of chain reactions and conflicts.

Agencies Via Xinhua