A ceremony due to end in the signature of a peace agreement by the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda started in Pretoria just after 2 p.m. Irish time today.
It was "a giant step forwards towards the renaissance of Africa," declared South African deputy president Mr Jacob Zuma, who chaired five days of talks between the two countries that produced the agreement on July 22nd.
It is designed to end a four-year war in the DRC that at its height involved seven other nations and is estimated to have killed 2.5 million people, most of them civilians.
The agreement provides for Rwandan Hutu rebels based in the east of the DRC to be rounded up, disarmed and repatriated within 90 days. Rwanda will withdraw some 20,000 troops from DRC soil within the same time limit.
South Africa and the United Nations will verify that the terms of the accord have been undertaken within 120 days.
Presidents Mr Joseph Kabila of the DRC and Mr Paul Kagame of Rwanda will sign the South African-brokered pact in the presence of South African President Mr Thabo Mbeki; a special representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; and President Mr Bakili Maluzi of Malawi.
AFP