NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — The African Union (AU) said on Saturday a peace deal signed between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda was a “significant milestone” in bringing peace to the deeply troubled region.

For more than 30 years the eastern DRC has been riven by conflict, which has intensified in recent years with the advance of an armed militia backed by Rwanda.

A statement said AU Commission head Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who witnessed the signing of the deal in Washington, United States on Friday, “welcomed this significant milestone and commended all efforts aimed at advancing peace, stability and reconciliation in the region.”

It said he “appreciated the constructive and supportive role played by the US and the State of Qatar in facilitating dialogue and consensus that led to this development.”

The agreement comes after the M23, an ethnic Tutsi rebel force supported by Rwanda, sprinted across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast territory including the key city of Goma.

The deal does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war but calls for Rwanda to end “defensive measures” it has taken.

Rwanda has denied offering the M23 military support but has demanded an end to another armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by ethnic Hutus involved in the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The agreement calls for the “neutralization” of the FDLR.