Former presidents from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria have been nominated by regional blocs in eastern and southern Africa to lead their peace process for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting has escalated in the country’s east.
In an effort to restore peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has taken control of vast areas of land and caused a humanitarian crisis, the East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have joined forces in recent weeks.
The two blocs agreed in a summit on February 8 to merge two separate peace processes — based in Luanda and Nairobi — that were operating before the latest escalation of violence.
They announced late Monday that they had named former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as “facilitators” of this new peace process.
According to the statement, the main objectives were an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” humanitarian supplies, and the securitization of the airport in Goma, one of the important cities captured by M23.
The statement said the EAC and SADC would hold a ministerial meeting on Friday to “work on the details of the ceasefire.”
Their summit on February 8 also called for a ceasefire, but this failed to take hold.
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