Congo rulng party, opposition sign deal for Kabila to step down

By Benoit Nyemba and Aaron Ross KINSHASA (Reuters) - Congo's opposition leaders signed a deal with the party of President Joseph Kabila on Saturday that will require him to step down after elections that must take place before the end of 2017. Mediators from the Congo's Catholic church had been heaping pressure on both sides for weeks to sign an agreement aimed at averting a slide into anarchy and possibly another civil war over Kabila's decision not to step down despite his mandate expiring more than a week ago. If they stick to it, the agreement will deliver Democratic Republic of Congo's first peaceful transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

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