De 11 afrikanske ledere nåede til enighed om fredsaftalen med FNs mellemkomst. Muligvis kommer der nu en særlig indsatsstyrke fra FN til den plagede region af kæmpelandet i Afrikas hjerte, som har lidt under konflikt i årtier med enorme menneskelige omkostninger.
As many as 800.000 people have been displaced since the notorious (berygtede) March 23 rebel group took up arms against the Congolese government in Kinshasa last May, BBC online reports Sunday.
The deal was signed in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
“It is only the beginning of a comprehensive (samlet) approach that will require sustained engagement,” Mr Ban said.
The agreement, signed by 11 countries of the Great Lakes region, may lead to the establishment of a special UN intervention brigade in eastern Congo, along with political efforts to bring peace.
Leaders from Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, DR Congo, Congo Republic and South Sudan were present at the signing in Addis Ababa.
According to the UN the Rwandese M23 rebels have been heavily involved in its eastern neighbour since those responsible for Rwanda’s genocide (folkedrab) fled there en masse in 1994.
The ICC (straffedomstolen i Haag) accuses Bosco Ntaganda, who set up M23, of using child soldiers and the UN says he controls several mines in the east of DR Congo.
The region’s mineral riches have been plundered by numerous groups and countries over the past 15 years and little has been spent on DR Congo’s infrastructure.
