France, Dec. 5 -- Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, the longtime president of Rwanda, officially signed the "Washington Agreements for Peace and Stability" in the US capital on Thursday, nearly a year after they failed to make a similar joint declaration in Angola.

President Trump said the peace ceremony, held at the newly renamed Donald J Trump Institute of Peace, was a "great day" for Africa and the world.

The African leaders took a more cautious tone, as fighting raged in eastern DRC where the M23 armed group - which the UN says is backed by Rwanda - has been gaining ground in recent weeks against Kinshasa's forces.

There was no official handshake at the ceremony and the agreement contains no binding mechanism. '...