Myanmar brokers cease-fire with rebels

(CNN) — The Myanmar government signed a cease-fire deal with a rebel group Thursday, the same day Aung San Suu Kyi’s party said it will join the upcoming elections.

Information Minister Soe Win said the government has signed a peace deal with the Karen National Liberation Army.

The Karen National Liberation Army, which has long sought autonomy for the Karen ethnic minority, is now permitted to travel throughout the country without weapons, a separate government official said.

The move is an apparent bid to resolve a conflict that has brewed for more than six decades.

The group operates in the border area of the country.