Rival militias sign ceasefire deal

The leaders of three rival militias groups fighting along the Isiro-Beni axis of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a ceasefire agreement on Monday, which could, if respected, allow for the provision of humanitarian assistance. The agreement, reached in the northern town of Gbadolite on Monday, became effective immediately.

It was signed by Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC), Roger Lumbala of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-National (RCD-N), Mbusa Nyamwisi of the RCD-Kisangani-Mouvement de liberation (RCD-K-ML), and Lena Sundh, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative in the country. Also present at the ceremony were the ambassadors of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States (all permanent members of the UN Security Council), and of South Africa, as well as Belgium - the former colonial power in the DRC.

Under the agreement, the rival groups agreed to halt the movement of troops, except for those being pulled back from their present positions. The RCD-N has been asked to withdraw its troops from the localities of Mambasa and Komanda, which it had earlier captured from the RCD-K-ML with the help of the MLC.

A ceasefire monitoring body, comprising representatives of the three movements, the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) and of South Africa, will be set up. The three movements have also agreed to demilitarise Mambasa and Komanda, and for MONUC to supervise buffer zones between the rival forces. The three groups have also undertaken to end their recruitment of child soldiers, create the conditions conducive to the free movement of people and their belongings, ensure that humanitarian workers are not harmed, and clear and destroy landmines.

Fighting between the militias erupted on 20 December and displaced close to 50,000 people in the Beni area. This was three days after the signing of an accord reached in the South African administrative capital, Pretoria, on the formation of an all-inclusive government for the DRC. MONUC's director of information, Patricia Tome, said on Monday that there had been no fighting for 48 hours.