( CNN ) -- Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda was arrested by Rwandan authorities early Friday , a development that raised hopes for peace in the war-ravaged country , representatives from both countries said . Laurent Nkunda , seen here last November , was reportedly arrested in Rwanda . Congolese forces first tried to capture the Tutsi rebel leader late Thursday evening near Bunagana , a village in eastern Congo . Rwandan authorities then captured Nkunda around 2 a.m. Friday , Omalanga added . The two countries were discussing efforts to extradite Nkunda back to the Congo . `` We think this is a major development in the peace process , '' said Madnodje Mounoubai , a spokesman for the U.N. Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo . Hear how Nkunda tried to flee capture » . The arrest could cause the estimated 1,500 rebel soldiers still loyal to Nkunda to join government forces and put a halt to most of the fighting in eastern Congo , said Mounoubai . `` It is also amazing that the two governments are working together , '' Mounoubai said . Rwanda and Congo traditionally have been on different sides of the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo , which pits ethnic Tutsis supported by Rwanda against Congo-backed ethnic Hutus . The war is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide of the early 1990s , when hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were killed in ethnic battles between minority Tutsi and majority Hutu . Renewed fighting broke out in eastern Congo at the end of August between rebels under the command of Nkunda and government forces . At the time , Nkunda said his forces were fighting to defend Congolese Tutsis from Hutu militants who escaped to Congo . Nkunda declared a unilateral cease-fire on October 29 , but it failed to stop the fighting and reports of atrocities . The fighting in the area in the province of North Kivu in eastern Congo , has displaced more than 250,000 people since August , the United Nations reported . See photos from Mia Farrow 's trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo » . A scathing report by a U.N. Security Council panel last month said that Rwanda and Congo are , in effect , fighting a brutal proxy war for territory and precious natural resources in eastern Congo , and all parties involved in the conflict are using execution , rape and child soldiers as tools of war . The report `` found evidence that Rwandan authorities have sent officers and units of the Rwanda Defense Forces '' into Congo in support of Congo rebel leader Laurent Nkunda 's fighters . Francois Grignon of the International Crisis Group said it may still be hard to quell violence even after Nkunda 's arrest . `` Laurent Nkunda had developed a parallel administration in North Kivu , so it might be a challenge to push the remaining members of ( Nkunda 's forces ) to join with the Congolese army and give up that power , '' said Grignon , whose organization has studied the conflict . `` But it is indeed a major development and a major breakthrough . '' -- CNN 's David McKenzie in Nairobi and David Ariosto contributed to this report .
Rwanda arrests Tutsi rebel leader , discussing his future with Tutsis . Neighboring nations have been on different sides of the conflict in east Congo . Struggle pits DRC , supported by Congo , against the Rwanda -backed David McKenzie . The conflict is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide .