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ARUSHA, Tanzania, Aug 18 (AFP) - The Rwandan government and the rebel Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) were set to sign a peace and power-sharing deal here Tuesday after reaching agreement on ending their 22-month civil war.
The two sides have reached agreement on formation of an interim government, according to a senior Tanzanian official.
The agreement comes after tough week-long negotiations on political change in the former Belgian colony. Government and rebels had already agreed July 31 to observe a ceasefire.
The Tanzanian official Ami Mpungwe said the pact would strengthen the ceasefire now in force.
Rwandan foreign minister Boniface Ngulinzira told journalists: "We have finally agreed on a new political system based on the rule of law... Our new constitution will be tailored to protect human rights."
Chief among the agreed political reforms is formation of a new broad-based interim government.
The two parties agreed Tuesday to meet again in this northern Tanzanian town from September 7 to discuss power-sharing and the structure of the future government of Rwanda.
The two sides, which have been meeting under Tanzanian auspices, have been given until October 10 to conclude their negotiations.
Still outstanding key matters are the proposed integration of RPF forces into Rwanda's national army and the return of many thousands of refugees to the country.
Diplomats said that they expected the talks on merging the military forces to be tougher than the political talks, as President Juvenal Habyarimana has depended on the military to keep him in power.
The mainly ethnic Tutsi RPF invaded Rwanda from Uganda in 1990 in an attempt to overthrow the 19-year-old Hutu-dominated government of Habyarimana. The RPF includes many Tutsi refugees of earlier troubles who fled to Uganda.
hb/jnm/ma AFP AFP SEQN-0259
