Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, attended a high-level summit in Tanzania on Saturday, where regional leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The summit, held in Dar es Salaam, brought together leaders from the East African Community (EAC) and the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) to address the escalating crisis.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has rapidly advanced in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, capturing vast territories in an offensive that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced large numbers of civilians. Last week, the group seized the strategic city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and is now pushing into neighboring South Kivu, further deepening the region’s long-standing instability.
Kenyan President William Ruto, who currently chairs the EAC, urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire and called on M23 to halt its advance while asking the DRC’s armed forces to refrain from retaliatory attacks.
“We call on all parties to actualize the ceasefire, and specifically on the M23 to halt further advancement and the armed forces of DRC to cease all retaliatory measures,” Ruto stated.
Presidents from Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were among the leaders in attendance as discussions began on how to de-escalate the conflict and restore stability to the region.