Kinshasa, DR Congo – After the just concluded peace talks held on Wednesday in the Angolan capital, Luanda, African leaders resorted in the declaration of a much-awaited ceasefire.
This will see a possible stop in the ensuing violence experienced heavily over the past month or so in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The agreement will take on effect starting on Friday.
The declaration was signed by leaders of DR Congo, Rwanda (though President Kagame was not present), Burundi and Angola, and by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta who was the principal mediator.
Earlier this month, an East African Regional Force begun its deployment to the ravaged eastern part of DR Congo to combat the M23 forces advancing towards the city of Goma and other regions.
Post the agreement, the military force will be tasked with dealing with non-compliance by the rebels.
According to the United Nations report on the ensuing conflict, almost 300,000 people have been displaced thus far, with the numbers of deaths and casualties is still unclear.
The M23 (the March 23 Movement), mainly a Tutsi faction, first emerged ten years ago, and have since been on an off and on resurgence.
According to a UN report, it states that the Rwanda government initially aided, supported and commanded the M23 but have since rescinded due to international pressure and a heavy defeat suffered by the group in 2013.
The M23 rebels claim their grievances arise from a failure by the DRC government in the implementation the March 23, 2009 peace deal that would have seen the absorption of its fighters into the national army and an improvement of military conditions.
About 300 soldiers defecting from the National Congress for the Defense of the People formed the group led by General Bosco Ntaga.