LUSAKA Congo rebel leaders signed a ceasefire accord on Tuesday in Lusaka, raising hope that a year-long war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can finally be brought to a halt. The signing ceremony was witnessed by mediators including Zambian President Frederick Chiluba and ministers from the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as Rwanda and Uganda, who had backed the rebels.

The ceasefire was signed by members of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), whose rival factions are backed by Rwanda and Uganada respectively, and who have been battling the government of President Laurent Kabila since last August. The truce paves the way for the deployment of international peacekeepers and direct talks between the government and political and military groups opposing its rule.

But bringing a lasting peace to the former Zaire, where Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia have sent troops to support Kabila, will be no easy task. It will demand the disarmament of several shadowy renegade forces in the tropical wilds of the country that Rwanda and Uganda say threaten their security. These include exiled Interahamwe Hutu militia, blamed for Rwanda's 1994 genocide of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. (Reuter)