EAC-SADC Leaders Meet In Dar Es Salaam As DRC’s Tshisekedi Attends Virtually
Leaders from the Eastern and Southern African regional blocs will meet in Tanzania on Saturday to discuss a resolution to the war in eastern Congo.
In the deadliest escalation of combat in over a decade, Rwandan-backed rebels have taken control of a major city.
Last week, the M23 rebels conquered Goma, the largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
HAPPENING IN AFRICA
— Athi Mtongana (@AthiMtongana) February 8, 2025
Taking place in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, is the joint #SADC and #EAC Heads of State and Government Summit on the security situation in the eastern #DRC.
🎥: MFA_Tanzania pic.twitter.com/8hxVdaWg4L
Despite declaring a unilateral truce, they have continued to march south towards Bukavu in a swift advance that has killed thousands and prompted worries of a regional conflict.
Congo’s leader Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan colleague Paul Kagame have decided to attend the summit, though Tshisekedi may participate virtually, according to reports.
The two have traded angry words, blaming each other’s governments for the increase in violence.
The Dar es Salaam meeting will seek a breakthrough after two peace talks in Luanda and Nairobi deadlocked as tensions rose.
Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki (EAC) na Jumuiya ya Maendeleo Kusini mwa Afrika (SADC) zinafanya Mkutano wa Pamoja wa Wakuu wa Nchi na Serikali tarehe 8 Februari, 2025, jijini Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, kujadili hali ya usalama mashariki mwa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo (DRC).
— Matokeo ChanyA+ (@matokeochanya) February 8, 2025
EAC… pic.twitter.com/QsDLRr4YxL
📍EAC-SADC Joint Heads of State and Government
— East African Community (@jumuiya) February 8, 2025
✍️All set for Joint EAC-SADC Heads of State and Government today in Dar es Salaam. Tanzania.
#️⃣Main agenda➡️ Security Situation in Eastern #DRC@SGNduva pic.twitter.com/yxYTMlmnIb
“Given the heightened tensions, immediate priorities are a ceasefire and opening supply routes to facilitate humanitarian access,” the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa said in a report on Friday.
“A single unified peace initiative could prevent Rwanda and the (Congo) from engaging in forum shopping… favouring mediators perceived to support their side,” it said.
M23’s rapid advancements over the last month have increased its control over the lucrative coltan, gold, and tin ore mines in North Kivu province.
They uprooted thousands in what was already one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.
Aid organizations have been assisting in relieving overburdened hospitals as health workers race against the clock to bury the bodies of at least 2,000 people killed in the battle for Goma, despite fears about disease spread.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court said they are closely monitoring the violence.
According to United Nations human rights official Volker Turk, reports of rape, gang rape, and sexual enslavement are on the rise.
Prior to the summit, the United States warned of probable sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese leaders.
BREAKING: Emergency joint meeting of EAC and SADC leaders on eastern DRC crisis kicks off in Tanzania.
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) February 8, 2025
🇷🇼 President Kagame attending, 🇨🇩 President Tshisekedi joining virtually and 🇿🇦 President Ramaphosa represented by Foreign minister pic.twitter.com/gRWQzi4hQ9
Nearly half of the African continent is represented at this Tanzania summit, bringing together EAC & SADC to resolve the Eastern DRC crisis. "History will judge us harshly if we remain still…," was the rallying call by host Pres. Samia Suluhu Hassan. #FocusOnAfrica pic.twitter.com/O7hA8gRZyf
— Waihiga Mwaura 🇰🇪 (@WaihigaMwaura) February 8, 2025
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This elevates the stakes for resolving a war that stems from the long-standing aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and the quest for control of Congo’s minerals.
M23, which is well-trained and properly armed, is the most recent of several ethnic Tutsi-led rebel factions to arise in Congo’s violent east. Congo’s government claims it is a Rwandan proxy, which the rebels deny.
Rwanda denies reports that thousands of its forces are fighting alongside M23, claiming it is acting in self-defense.
In exchange, it accuses Congo’s military of collaborating with Hutu-led militias that it claims are intent on slaying Tutsis in Congo and threatening Rwanda, and has repeatedly urged Kinshasa to talk directly with the rebels.
EAC-SADC Leaders Meet In Dar Es Salaam As DRC’s Tshisekedi Attends Virtually
