DRC and Rwanda to sign peace agreement on 27 June

Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement in Washington on June 27, a joint press release from the nations and the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.

Both countries have agreed to the terms of the deal aimed at ending fighting in eastern Congo. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in the east of the country. U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from the neighboring nation.

The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February. The draft agreement includes "provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups," the joint statement said.

The agreement that will be signed also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups.

Both countries have in the past held peace talks that have largely stalled, including talks hosted by Qatar. Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups, told The Associated Press in April that international sanctions and Congo’s proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting.

M23 is one of about 100 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda.

The conflict has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and has displaced more than 7 million people.