The M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced that it would disarm, which potentially could pave the way for peaceful negotations in a war-ravaged country that has seen millions killed, CNN reported on Tuesday.
Bertrand Bisimwa, the rebel group leader, said the group would end its insurgency and "pursue by purely political means, a search for solution to the profound issues that lead to its creation. To this effect, the major general and all unit commanders of the of the Congolese Revolutionary Army are asked to prepare the troops for the disarmament process."
Bisimwa's declaration comes after the rebel group and the Congolese government agreed to a ceasefire on Monday after ongoing peace talks in South Africa.
"This is a hopeful first step toward peace and prosperity in this region. No one should mistake this as the final solution to this problem," said Russ Feingold, the U.S. special envoy to the Congo and the Great Lakes region, adding that agreements could be signed "in the next few days."
Feingold voiced confidence that Rwanda, accused by United Nations experts of backing the M23, wanted to see an end to the insurgency.
Millions of people have "died from violence, disease and hunger since the 1990s as foreign-backed insurgents have waged a series of rebellions, often for control of the region's rich deposits of gold, diamonds and tin. M23's defeat appeared to vindicate the UN's deployment of a tough new Intervention Brigade this year," Reuters reported.
"We look forward to the final declaration providing for the timely disarmament and demobilization of the M23, as well as accountability for perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity... We reiterate our calls for the DRC government to hold accountable all those who have committed abuses in the Congolese army, as well as militia members," Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, wrote in a statement for Immediate Release on Tuesday.
