Rwanda and DR Congo agree draft peace deal to end conflict

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to witness the formal signing of the peace deal next week.

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The breakthrough, mediated by the US and Qatar, provides for the "disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration" of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo.

Rwanda denies widespread accusations that it backs one of those groups, the M23, which has seized large parts of the region this year.

It also includes provisions for a joint security mechanism to prevent future flare-ups. The peace deal is expected to be formally signed next week.

The deal could open the way for billions of dollars of western investment in the mineral-rich region, which been plagued by conflict for three decades.