January 23, 2008
Rebel Groups & Congo Gov't Sign Peace Deal
The government and armed rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace deal today aimed at putting an end to months of fighting in the country's eastern Kivu provinces, which has displaced nearly 500,000 people. The various sides in the conflict have been negotiating for two weeks in the city of Goma.
The agreement signed today "is the first public and official peace settlement for the two Kivu provinces," Agence France-Presse reports. "The overall conference recommendations, made by elected politicians, members of the different ethnic communities, local business people and other community players, count for a lot on further help from the U.N. mission in" Congo, "the largest peacekeeping force deployed by the world body." (BBC News has details on the agreement.)
According to CNN, the peace accord comes as a new report details the horrors that have beset Congo in the years since a nationwide war broke out in 1998. In the past 10 years, some 5.4 million people have died in the violence. The monthly death rate now stands at about 45,000, according to a study from the International Rescue Committee. Reuters has background on the conflict, and the IRC has the full report available online.
