Tutsi rebels join Congo army

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Leaders of a main Tutsi rebel group say they will stop fighting government forces and join the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The group says it has broken with the leadership of the National Congress for the Defense of the People led by Laurent Nkunda, who has been under pressure to declare a full ceasefire with the government, the BBC reported Saturday.

Nkunda has said he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attacks by Rwandan Hutu rebels based in Congo, some of whom are accused of participating in the 1994 genocide.

An estimated 250,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since August.

Nine rebel commanders of the breakaway group, including Bosco Ntaganda, announced their cease-fire in the eastern city of Goma.

"We declare the end of hostilities" with the government, said Ntaganda, who had claimed this month to have overthrown Nkunda.

While the rebel group's cease-fire is significant, numerous other militias occupy the region, including members of the Interahamwe, the Hutu radicals who led Rwanda's genocide.