Congo government, rebels to sign ceasefire Tuesday

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government and warring rebel and militia factions will sign a deal on Tuesday to end fighting in the country's conflict-torn east, government officials and diplomats said on Monday.

The agreement, which will include a ceasefire, was announced after more than two weeks of talks in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, that brought together government officials, local leaders and rival armed factions.

"(A ceasefire) will be signed tomorrow at the closing ceremony," Vital Kamerhe, spokesman for the peace conference and head of Congo's lower house of parliament, told Reuters.

More than 400,000 civilians in North Kivu have fled their homes over the past year to escape fighting between government soldiers, local Mai Mai militia, and Tutsi insurgents loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda.

Under the deal to be signed, an immediate permanent ceasefire would be established between the government, the Mai Mai and Nkunda, diplomats and observers at the talks said.

Nkunda's fighters would pull back from advanced positions in North Kivu, many of which they have held since the failure of a government offensive in December. This would create space for a buffer zone to be patrolled by United Nations peacekeepers.

A technical commission would then be established to oversee the disarmament of the Nkunda rebels and Mai Mai fighters and their integration into the national army, or demobilization. The government would promise to create an amnesty law for the Mai Mai and the Nkunda rebels covering "insurgency and acts of war".

A similar agreement was also due to be signed for neighboring South Kivu province involving another group of Tutsi insurgents and eight other Mai Mai militia factions.

The conflict in Congo's turbulent Kivus, which has its roots in neighboring Rwanda's 1994 genocide, has raged on despite the official end of a broader 1998-2003 war and humanitarian catastrophe that killed an estimated 4 million people, mainly through hunger and disease.

POSSIBLE HITCHES

Foreign diplomats described the deal, whose definitive draft was still being finalized, as potentially a major step towards ending more than a decade of violence in Congo's east.

"The important thing is that a document is signed, a ceasefire takes place, and things start to move on the ground," said one diplomat. "It seems extremely positive, but it needs to be followed through on," he added.

Among issues apparently unresolved is the status of Nkunda and one of his commanders who are wanted for war crimes by the government. The proposed amnesty would not cover such crimes.

It was unclear whether the amnesty law promised by the government would require approval by the national parliament.

"This is a just a commitment. There will be meetings to follow. If the subject of amnesty is not treated properly, we will not continue with the process," Nkunda told Reuters, speaking by phone from his eastern mountain stronghold.

"Sequencing is going to be important, and it may mean that implementation is still a long way off. I don't think Nkunda is really going to move on this until he sees something in it for himself," independent Congo analyst Jason Stearns told Reuters.

Implementing the deal may also depend on efforts to rid east Congo of Nkunda's traditional enemies, Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Congo signed an agreement with Rwanda late last year promising to drive out the FDLR, some of whose leaders were responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide that slaughtered 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Nkunda led 4,000 fighters into the bush in a 2004 revolt and has justified his rebellion as an effort to protect east Congo's Tutsi minority against attacks by the Rwandan Hutu FDLR.

(Editing by Pascal Fletcher)