Museveni, Kabila sign ceasefire accord

President Laurent-Desire Kabila and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni have put their names to a ceasefire accord, brokered in Sirte, Libya by the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Also present at the weekend meeting were the presidents of Chad and Eritrea, Idriss Deby and Isayas Afewerki. According to the Libyan news agency Jana, the agreement also provides for the deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Great Lakes region, the withdrawal of foreign troops and urges a national dialogue in DRC with the participation of all sides. The mini-summit reportedly called for the continued mediation of Gaddafi in the Great Lakes peace process. In a speech broadcast by Libyan television, Gaddafi hailed the agreement as the "beginning of a tangible solution to the greatest current problem in Africa". Speaking after the signing ceremony on Sunday, he said the "revolutionary African will" that had brought about this accord could now be applied to other conflict areas, such as the Horn. Great Lakes analyst Filip Reyntjens told IRIN on Monday details of the ceasefire agreement were still sketchy, but as a first analysis, the situation was "probably better than a week ago", given that rivals Museveni and Kabila were both present. However, he pointed out that past ceasefire agreements had failed to hold. The fact that Museveni had unilaterally gone to Libya was "not friendly to Rwanda", Reyntjens said, and probably signalled a difference of opinion between the two countries. It was possible Museveni might want to opt out of DRC, as public opinion at home was unfavourable to Uganda's involvement in the war which was very costly. Another regional analyst said Museveni was "playing for time" and "waiting for Kabila to fall by himself". There has been increasing unrest in Kinshasa as the economic constraints of the war take their toll. By signing this peace accord, Museveni hoped to stop Libya's flow of arms to Kabila via Chad and "therefore involve Libya in peace efforts rather than confrontation".