UN Security Council urges rebels to sign DRC ceasefire



UNITED NATIONS, July 20 (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Tuesday issued a new appeal to rebel factions in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to sign a ceasefire deal agreed by six African leaders.

In a statement to reporters after a closed-door council briefing, council president Hasmy Agam of Malaysia said the 15 delegations "reiterated their dismay" that the leaders of the two rebel movements had still not signed the accord.

The ceasefire was signed in the Zambian capital Lusaka on July 10 by the DRC and its supporters in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, along with Rwanda and Uganda which back the rebels.

But a leadership dispute in the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy prevented the group from signing, and the DRC army and rebels have accused each other of violating the ceasefire since the Lusaka meeting.

Hasmy said the 15 council members "expressed their readiness to consider expeditiously" the secretary-general's recommendation for an initial mission of 90 military and civilian personnel to be deployed in the region.

The deployment would precede a more substantial peacekeeping force once the situation in the sprawling central African country is clarified.

ap/gs AFP

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