DAR ES SALAAM -- President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni have reaffirmed their commitment to restoring peace in the DRC, they said in a statement Monday.

The two leaders arrived in the Tanzanian commercial capital on Sunday for talks that lasted into the night, focusing on bilateral ties and the security situation in the DRC, notably in the northeastern Ituri district bordering Uganda, the joint communiqué said.

"The two presidents expressed their readiness to launch the Ituri Pacification Committee (IPC) after due consultations with other stakeholders," the communiqué said.

The security situation in Ituri was reported to have seriously deteriorated earlier this month, as rebels and ethnic militia battle for dominance, AFP reported.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had reported that heavy fighting had displaced at least 500,000 people in the district.

The Ugandan Army, which was keeping the peace in the area, has pulled out two battalions from the DRC, and is due to withdraw the remainder of its troops in December.

Museveni and Kabila were expected to leave for home later Monday.

The war in the DRC broke out in 1998 with an attempt to topple the then President Laurent Kabila, the father of the current president, and at its height drew in seven other African countries.