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ARUSHA, Tanzania, July 14 (AFP) - The Rwandan government and rebels signed a ceasefire early Tuesday after four days of talks in a bid to end nearly two years of civil war, delegates said.
"The ceasefire was signed in the early hours of Tuesday," an African diplomat attending the talks between the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the government in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha told AFP.
The two sides are to stop fighting on Monday. The ceasefire, further details of which were to be announced later Tuesday, will be monitored by military observers from Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe, and by RPF and government representatives.
The 21-month guerrilla war in Rwanda has pitted the RPF, drawn mainly from the minority Tutsi tribe, against the army, dominated by the majority Hutu.
The RPF invaded Rwanda from neighbouring Uganda to press demands for the return of thousands of Tutsi driven into exile 30 years ago when the Hutu seized power from them in uprisings which killed 100,000 people.
The ceasefire was originally to be signed at midnight Sunday, but last-minute bargaining delayed the accord, Tanzanian mediators said.
hb/dc/g AFP AFP SEQN-0080
