THE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda were set to sign a peace deal last night to help end the deadly fighting in the eastern DRC.

The agreement, due to be signed in Washington, would also help the US government and its companies gain access to critical minerals in the conflict-battered, mineral-rich region.

The DRC has been ripped apart by conflict with more than 100 armed groups. The most prominent is the M23 militia, backed by neighbouring Rwanda, whose major advance early this year left bodies littered on the streets of towns and cities in eastern Congo.

The agreement involves provisions on respect for territorial integrity, a prohibition of hostilities as well as the disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups, US State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters on Thursday.

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric welcomed the deal saying: “We talk almost every day about the horrific suffering of civilians, the hunger, the sexual violence, the constant fear, the constant displacement” in the war-torn region.

The DRC government hopes that the US will provide it with the security support needed to fight M23, but the militia has suggested that it won’t be bound by the agreement.