The Congolese government has signed a deal with an armed group to restore peace and security in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after decades of violence, UN officials said.
The agreement was signed in the gold-rich province of Ituri, long wracked by communal violence that has left tens of thousands dead.
The deal, signed Friday between the DRC authorities and the FRPI (Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri), calls for a ceasefire and integration of the militias into the regular army.
“This agreement… is tasked with ending nearly two decades of violence,” the United Nations mission in DRC, MONUSCO, said in a statement.
It is “designed to restore peace, security and stability” in southern Ituri, following “several aborted attempts,” it added.
The FRPI, which today numbers 500 fighters, has been active in the south of Ituri for two decades.
The News Editor ,Reporter at Kagadi Kibaale community Radio
