DRC militia groups to lay down arms ahead of poll

Three main militia groups in a strife-torn eastern province have agreed to lay down arms and allow free passage of voters during the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s historic elections, the United Nations said today.

Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for the 17,600-troop peacekeeping force in the DRC said “several hundred” fighters will join the country’s post-war army in return for disarming and allowing Sunday’s vote to go ahead in Ituri Province.

“It’s a positive development. Anything that contributes to peace in Congo is good news,” said Saiki.

But Saiki cautioned that other armed groups still exist in eastern DRC, which is the site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises despite the official end to war in 2002.

Thousands of rebel and militia fighters have joined the military under a post-war, transitional administration led by President Joseph Kabila.

Sunday’s elections represent the DRC’s first-ever multi-party balloting for a head of state and are meant to choose a democratic leader for a constitutional administration.

Kabila is considered a front-runner in a field of 33 presidential candidates. Thousands of aspiring lawmakers are running for seats in parliament.