Congo and Rwanda agree to new peace deal

Congolese and Rwandan officials have announced an end to four years of fighting in a war that has claimed more than two million lives.

The peace deal announced yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa, which must be ratified by presidents Joseph Kabila of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, was brokered during five days of talks mediated by South Africa’s Deputy President Jacob Zuma.

It will commit the Congolese government to rounding up and disarming Hutu militias in territories under its control and sending them back to Rwanda, an official said.

Rwanda, which blames the militia for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in turn agreed to subsequently withdraw its troops from Congolese soil.

It remains to be seen how successful the latest agreement will be in ending four years of war in Congo. Previous ceasefires have been violated repeatedly.

Rebels in Congo warned that the deal failed to address all the problems facing the country.

Congo’s war broke out in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda backed Congolese rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila, accusing him of supporting rebels threatening regional security.

Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sent troops to support the government, which is also supported by rebels from neighbouring Burundi and Rwanda.

The Ugandan-backed rebel Congolese Liberation Movement reached a peace deal with the Kinshasa government in April. But the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy, which controls a huge territory in eastern Congo, has rejected it, along with some Congolese opposition leaders.

Adolphe Onusumba, leader of the Congolese Rally for Democracy, warned that peace was still far from accomplished.

‘‘The agreement between Congo and Rwanda is significant, but it addresses only the external dimensions of the Congolese crisis and does not resolve internal dimensions,’’ he said.

‘‘To sort out the internal dimensions, Kinshasa must pursue a political agreement with all Congolese belligerents, opposition parties and civil society.’’

Olivier Kamitatu, secretary-general of the Ugandan-backed rebel group, also warned that problems remained.

Congo has pledged to disarm the Rwandan militia before, and last year rounded up 1,800 of them and destroyed their weapons. Kinshasa has since insisted there are no more militia in Congolese territory under its control, but Rwanda disputes that claim.

Kikaya bin Karubi, the Congolese communication minister, denied that Kinshasa was still sheltering the militia.

Officials said the peace deal was expected to be signed within the next 10 days and should be implemented within three months.

South Africa was tasked with ensuring the militia - who were responsible for the 1994 Rwanda genocide - were disarmed, rounded up and repatriated.

Talks are expected to take place between the rebel groups and Congolese government and will be mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki and former Senegalese Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse.