A joint summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) will be held on Friday February 7 and Saturday February 8 on the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This follows an agreement between the Chairman of SADC President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and EAC Chairperson President William Ruto of Kenya.
“President Samia Suluhu Hassan has graciously agreed to host the summit to deliberate on the situation in Eastern DRC,” Ruto said.
He said President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda have confirmed attendance of the meeting that will be preceded by a ministerial meeting on Friday before the Heads of State convene on Saturday.
Ruto confirmed that he has engaged President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia who have confirmed participation at the extra-ordinary summit.
At least 700 people in the city were killed and close to 3,000 injured as the rebels clashed with DR Congo’s army and its allies, according to the UN and the Congolese government.
The M23, which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for the rights of their minority group, while DR Congo’s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking to exploit the eastern region’s vast mineral wealth.
As DR Congo reels from the shock of seeing Goma captured, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war by rival groups.
As the M23 rejoices over its conquest, the Congolese government continues to deny the rebels’ claim that they have totally captured Goma.
The authorities accuses the M23 of illegally occupying their land – with the support of Rwanda – and promises to recover any lost territory.
Although Rwanda used to consistently deny backing the rebels, its response has shifted to a more defensive one, in which government spokespeople state that fighting near its border is a security threat.
The rebels are now reported to be moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, and have vowed to reach the capital, Kinshasa, even though it is 2,600km (1,600 miles) away.
For now, Goma remains their biggest coup. Conditions there foreshadow what life could become for many more Congolese people, should the M23 gain more ground.
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