Dar es Salaam, April 26 -- WASHINGTON: RWANDA and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to respect each others sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal by 2 May.

The deal was signed by the two countries foreign ministers in Washington, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also present at Fridays ceremony.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent months as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DR Congo.

After losing territory, the government in Kinshasa turned to the US for help in exchange for access to the minerals.

Relations have been so poor between DR Congo and Rwanda that the meeting in Washington and a promise to resolve disputes thr...