Has Trump really ended eight wars since returning to office?

US President deserves some credit but his claim to have solved so many conflicts in such a short time is disingenuous

US President Donald Trump with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the UN General Assembly in September. Getty Images / AFP

US President Donald Trump has heralded a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, capping months of efforts to end the three-decade conflict that has killed millions of people.

But continuing clashes have led to some scepticism about the “historic” breakthrough in the war, which Mr Trump claims is one of eight he has ended since his inauguration in January, when he vowed he would be remembered as a “peacemaker and unifier”.

Mr Trump and his supporters say he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, and he has been nominated for the prestigious award by scores of people and countries, including Pakistan and Israel.

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But he has been unable to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, a conflict he once boasted he would end within a day of returning to the White House.

Here is a closer look at the eight “wars” Mr Trump says he ended.

DRC and Rwanda

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a peace accord in late June, but intense clashes between Rwandan-backed anti-government M23 fighters and Congolese forces continued in the eastern part of the country despite the agreement.

At a peace deal signing ceremony in Washington on December 4, Mr Trump said he expects to see an end to the fighting “very quickly”.

“I think you'll see very immediate results. I have confidence that that's what's going to happen,” he said at the ceremony with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC President Félix Tshisekedi.

The durability of the peace has yet to be established and clashes continued the week after the deal signing.

Amnesty International’s director for East and Southern Africa Tigere Chagutah said months of discussions and the signing of agreements in Washington and Doha “have had no tangible impact on the lives of Congolese civilians” as violence continues.

Congolese returning from Kimoka gather for a visit by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, in Sake, eastern DRC, on August 29. AFP

Israel-Gaza conflict

Mr Trump in October declared an end to the war in Gaza, more than two years after Hamas militants sparked the conflict by attacking Israel.

The first phase of his peace plan secured the release of all remaining living hostages, although the remains of one dead captive has yet to be returned. The truce is fragile and both Hamas and Israel are accusing each other ceasefire breaches on a near-daily basis.

A second phase is being negotiated but progress is slow. Far fewer civilians are being killed in Gaza than before the ceasefire, but there has not been a complete end to the fighting. It took him nine months but Mr Trump deserves credit for reducing the violence, something his predecessor Joe Biden largely failed to do.

Israel and Iran

In June, years of tensions between Israel and Iran exploded into a 12-day air war in which the two foes exchanged missile fire and Israel launched strikes against Iranian military targets.

On June 24, Mr Trump announced that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in place.

There is no doubt the US played a crucial role in the conflict, especially after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites. But it is not clear how durable the truce will be and Mr Trump has left the door open for more strikes if the US assesses Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

Still, Mr Trump deserves at least partial credit for helping to end the retaliatory strikes between Iran and Israel.

People walk past damaged houses after an Israeli air strike in Tehran on June 26. EPA

India and Pakistan

Mr Trump's claim that he ended a “war” between India and Pakistan has driven New Delhi to distraction.

The South Asian neighbours exchanged artillery, plane and drone strikes in early May after gunmen killed 26 people in the Himalayan tourist spot of Pahalgam in the Kashmir Valley. India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, which Islamabad has denied.

Mr Trump infuriated New Delhi when he announced that the US had “mediated” a ceasefire. His announcement pre-empted India making a statement, and New Delhi has long maintained that any issues with Pakistan, including over the disputed Kashmir region, can only be addressed bilaterally and without the intervention of a third country.

India has insisted the recent ceasefire with Pakistan was decided through direct contacts between the two countries' armies. Pakistan, conversely, has lauded Mr Trump's role and nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize in June.

Pakistani Rangers, left, and Indian Border Security Force personnel perform during the beating retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border between Pakistan and India. AFP

Egypt and Ethiopia

The African neighbours are not at war, so Mr Trump's claim is disingenuous. Still, tensions are high after Ethiopia inaugurated an enormous dam this month, which Cairo claims could rob it of its vital share of the river's water.

Egypt, which relies on the Nile for 97 per cent of its water, has long decried the project, with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi calling it an “existential threat” to the country's water security.

During his first term in office, Mr Trump suggested Egypt could bomb the dam, leading Ethiopia to accuse the US leader of trying to provoke a war.

Cambodia and Thailand

The neighbouring South-East Asian nations fought along their vaguely delineated border in July in the deadliest fighting between them since violence flared from 2008 to 2011 over disputed jungle territory.

Mr Trump warned Cambodia and Thailand that there would be no trade deals with either until they stopped fighting, and a ceasefire was announced soon after.

It was an abrupt end to the fighting, but critics contend that the reasons the conflict happened in the first place were not addressed.

On December 8, Thailand launched air strikes against Cambodia as fighting broke out along the disputed border. Both countries accused the other of breaching the ceasefire brokered by Mr Trump.

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Armenia and Azerbaijan have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves in each other's territories, and went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in 2023.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have praised US efforts to settle the conflict, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said he would back Mr Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In August, Mr Trump hosted Mr Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the White House, where the two leaders signed a peace declaration.

Mr Trump also raised eyebrows last week when he made a gaffe saying he had settled the war between “Aber-baijan and Albania”. It was the second time he mistook Albania for Armenia. Calling Armenia “Albania” is offensive to many in the region given the historical context of Caucasian Albania, which has nothing to do with Albania the country.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, US President Donald Trump and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan join hands in peace at the White House on August 8. EPA

Kosovo and Serbia

Serbia and Kosovo have not signed a final peace treaty, and Nato-led peacekeeping forces have been stationed in Kosovo since the end of the 1998-1999 war between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serbian forces.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, a move that Belgrade has not recognised.

Mr Trump did not forge a peace between Kosovo and Serbia, but his administration did broker an economic normalisation agreement between them during his first term.