Nepal’s communist rebels will begin disarming and join an interim Parliament on Jan 15 as part of a peace process to end years of bloody conflict, officials said on Monday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Maoist rebel leader Prachanda and leaders of the seven ruling parties on Monday in Katmandu, rebel spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.

“The process of locking up of our weapons under UN monitoring will begin on the same day we join the interim Parliament,” Mahara said.

The existing Parliament would be dissolved on Jan 15 and immediately be superceded by an interim legislature, which would include 73 seats for Maoist rebels, he said.

On the same day, the rebels would begin handing over their weapons at seven main camps set up to lock up their arms and confine thousands of their fighters under UN supervision.

Also on Jan 15, an interim constitution prepared and agreed by government and rebel negotiators would take effect, Mahara said. The temporary charter is to remain until a special assembly to be elected this year can prepare a permanent one. The communists can only join the interim government by giving up their arms.

The first team of UN arms monitors arrived earlier this month, and the next batch is expected to arrive later this week.

—BINAJ GURUBACHARYA