Catholic leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have said that they hope for lasting peace after brokering an 11th-hour deal between the government and the opposition.
The agreement stipulates that President Joseph Kabila step down after an election later this year. If successful, it would be the first peaceful transition of power in the country since independence in 1960.
Protests at Mr Kabila’s refusal to leave office led to dozens of deaths last month. Mgr Leonard Santedi Kinkupu, rector of Kinshasa’s Catholic University and former secretary-general of the bishops’ conference, said: “We’re all saluting this great step, the fruit of a dialogue arranged by the Church.”
