Sylvestre Mudacumura, commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who was wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crime charges, was shot dead Tuesday night.

"The death of Sylvestre Mudacumura is good news for peace and security in the region," state minister for regional affairs Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP.

"With his genocide group, the FDLR, he was destabilising DRC, killing Congolese and Rwandans."

The FDLR was created by Rwandan Hutu refugees in eastern DRC after the genocide of Tutsis by majority Hutus in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994.

The group is regularly accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the zones it controls.

"His death confirms the commitment of President Felix Tshisekedi in fighting negative forces and will open a new era of good and peaceful cooperation between DRC and countries in the region," said Nduhungirehe.