By Daphne Psaledakis, Sonia Rolley and Ange Kasongo WASHINGTON/PARIS/KINSHASA (Reuters) -Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement on Friday, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a peace deal in Washington aimed at ending decades of devastating conflict between the two neighbours, and potentially granting the US lucrative mineral access.

The official signing of the peace agreement took place earlier Friday at the State Department and was witnessed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senior Adviser for Africa Massad Boulos, whom Trump has largely credited with bringing about the deal.