East African regional leaders demand ceasefire in eastern Congo
East African regional leaders on Saturday renewed their call for
an immediate ceasefire by all sides in the conflict in eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo that pits the country's military against a rebel group it has
accused Rwanda of supporting.
At a summit in Burundi's
capital Bujumbura, the leaders of the regional East African Community (EAC)
bloc called for an "immediate ceasefire by all parties," according to
a communique issued at the end of the meeting.
The
M23 rebel group has seized large areas of eastern Congo's North Kivu province
in a rapid onslaught since Oct. 20 that has threatened the provincial capital,
Goma.
The
conflict has inflamed regional tensions with Congo accusing neighbour Rwanda of
backing and sponsoring the Tutsi-led rebellion. United Nations experts and
Western powers have also accused Rwanda of backing the M23, although Rwanda has
denied any involvement.
Saturday's meeting was the latest diplomatic effort to try to
end the insurgency, which has displaced at least 520,000 people since March
2022 in North Kivu, a territory long plagued by conflict.
Earlier this week, Pope Francis visited
Congo and called for an end to violence.
Regional leaders had brokered
an agreement in November under which the rebels were meant to cease fire and
withdraw from recently seized positions by Jan. 15, but that did not happen.
A U.N. internal report said the rebels were flouting
the ceasefire and withdrawal terms.
Saturday's summit was attended
by heads of state from Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi and
senior officials from the region.
They also demanded the
withdrawal of all foreign and armed groups from Congo and asked regional
military chiefs to meet within one week and set a timeframe for the withdrawal.
"The summit reiterated its
call to all parties to de-escalate tensions," the communique read.
At the summit Congo's President
Felix Tshisekedi warned the commander of an East African regional military
force deployed in eastern Congo, Jeff Nyagah, a Kenyan, against showing bias
toward the rebels.
"Do not favor the M23. It
would be a shame for the population to turn on you," Tshisekedi is seen
telling Nyagah in a video tweeted by his spokeswoman, Tina Salama.
"You came to help us and
not to have problems. Pay attention to that. Communicate with the
population," Tshisekedi said.
Kenyan President William Ruto
was visible standing nearby as Tshisekedi warned the commander. The EAC agreed
on a regional force in April last year to be deployed in eastern Congo to help
end decades of bloodshed in the area.
On Jan. 27, M23 rebels took
control of the town of Kitshanga in Masisi territory and control of a new road,
further isolating the provincial capital Goma.
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