The former warring parties in the civil war that has devastated the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa yesterday signed a military deal that removed the final obstacle to setting up a transitional government.

The deal, signed here in the presence of President Laurent Kabila by the government and the three main rebel groups and their respective allies, resolved the issue of control over the army once a new government is in place.

"I sincerely hope this is the end of the war," Kabila said at the signing ceremony, which took place a day before the DRC celebrates 43 years of independence from Belgium.

"I hope that this accord and the setting up of a transitional government will mean that a lasting peace has come to (DR) Congo," said Moustapha Niasse, a former prime minister from Senegal who co-mediated the negotiations between the government and rebels.

Niasse invited all of the country's residents to "lend their support to the peace process, the government and the president".

The interim government was provided for under a peace pact signed in December in South Africa to end the four-and-a-half-year war in the DRC, which drew in a dozen African nations at its height and killed some 2,5-million people, either directly in combat or indirectly through disease and hunger.

Sources here said that Kabila could later yesterday name the members of the transitional government that is aimed at leading the vast country to free elections.

The agreement calls for government representatives to hold the post of overall commander of the army and head the air force, sources close to the negotiations said.

The Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) rebel group will command ground forces, and the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) rebel group will command naval forces, the sources said. - Sapa-AFP.