UN Hails Peace Accord Between DRC, Rwanda

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 31, 2002

UN Hails Peace Accord Between DRC, Rwanda

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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN Security Council Tuesday issued a statement respectively to welcome a peace agreement signed by the leaders ofthe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to end a war that has embroiled six African nations and left 2.5 million people dead.

Annan, in a statement issued here by his spokesman, said that he "welcomes the renewed commitment of the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda to a mutually agreed settlement process, including a cessation of hostilities, aimed atmaking concrete progress toward peace in the region."

"The secretary-general also extends his appreciation to the government of South Africa, and President (Thabo) Mbeki in particular, for their role in bringing the two governments together," the statement said.

"The United Nations stands ready to support the implementation of the agreement and looks forward to discussing the practical modalities with the parties concerned," the statement added.

The agreement was signed by DRC President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame at a ceremony in South Africa.

Also on Tuesday, the president of the Security Council, Jeremy Greenstock of Britain, said in a statement read to the press here that the 15-nation council welcomed the new peace agreement.

The council members also voiced their appreciation of the efforts by South Africa to facilitate the peace talks that lead tothe signing of the new accord, the statement said.

The deal, the latest in a string of efforts to end the war, commits Rwanda to pull its 30,000 troops from Congo in exchange for Congo rounding up, disarming and repatriating thousands of Rwandan rebels who have used the country as a base for attacks on Rwanda.

War broke out in former Zaire in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda backed Congolese rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila, accusing him of supporting rebels who threatened their security. Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia sent troops to support the government.

An estimated 2.5 million people have died - mainly from war - induced hunger and disease - in the conflict in Congo, a resource-rich central African nation.

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