GOMA, Congo (AP) — More than 400 civilians have been killed since the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group escalated its offensive in the South Kivu province in eastern Congo, regional officials said, adding that Rwandan special forces were in the strategic city of Uvira.

Mr. Trump last week declared that he had ended the decades-old conflict between Congo and Rwanda when he gathered several African leaders for the signing of the Washington Accord, a peace and economic deal that includes millions in U.S. investments.

The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rapidly escalating after the M23 rebels captured the key town of Uvira on Wednesday, shattering a peace deal signed between the DRC and Rwanda just a week prior in Washington.