African regional summit expands mediation team for DRC conflict
Previous peace talks between Rwanda and DRC had been hosted by Angola, but it announced Monday that it was relinquishing its role as a mediator.
FILE: People gather next to some vehicles from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission as they flee the Masisi territory following clashes between M23 rebels and government forces, at a road near Sake on 7 February 2024. Picture: AFP
NAIROBI, KENYA - Eastern and southern African countries seeking to broker peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo expanded their team of presidential mediators following a virtual summit on Monday as they try to bring more pressure to stop the fighting.
The East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) - together comprising 24 countries - came together in early February for a joint peace push after a Rwanda-backed armed group, the M23, seized large swathes of territory in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, triggering fears of a regional war.
After another virtual summit of the regional leaders on Monday, a new team of "facilitators" was announced to lead negotiations.
Former Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo remain on the team, while former Ethiopian president Sahle-Work Zewde replaces another ex-Ethiopia leader Hailemariam Desalegn.
Former South Africa president Kgalema Motlanthe and ex-Central African Republic president Catherine Samba-Panza were added, enlarging the group to five from three to improve "gender, regional and language inclusivity", according to a communique issued after the summit.
It said the EAC, SADC and African Union would hold another meeting within seven days.
Previous peace talks between Rwanda and DRC had been hosted by Angola, but it announced Monday that it was relinquishing its role as a mediator.
Long-awaited peace talks scheduled to be held in Angola's capital on 18 March were cancelled at the eleventh hour when the M23 pulled out in protest at EU sanctions on some of its top brass.
The same day, the government of Qatar unexpectedly announced it had hosted Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi for talks.
The two heads of state, who have long been at odds, "reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire", Qatar said in a statement released after the secret meeting.
Despite the recent attempts to broker a ceasefire, the M23 last week took control of the mining hub of Walikale, the farthest west the group has advanced into the interior of the DRC since 2012.