A peace pact has been signed in Goma in the eastern part of DR Congo by the government and armed groups.
Dissident rebel Gen Laurent Nkunda and pro-government Mai Mai militia finally agreed to sign after long negotiations, reports BBC online Wednesday.
The deal, described as historic by one observer, includes an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 13 key locations. It aims to end months of bloody conflict which has driven almost 500.000 people from their homes.
The deal offers an amnesty to General Nkunda and his forces but the rebels say its full implementation will be dependent on the disarming of an ethnic Hutu militia.
Talks involving the government and more than 20 rebel groups lasted more than two weeks and were sponsored by the United States, the European Union and the African Union.
The EU has promised 150 million dollar of aid to reconstruct the region, which will bolster the whole process. But Africa analyst Muzong Kodi at Chatham House in London was more pessimistic.
– The underlying problem is the resource war (krigen om rige naturressourcer) and if any of the groups disband other groups are going to replace them, he told the BBCs Focus on Africa programme.
