The 21st Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), held Monday in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), called for an end to hostilities in from the M23 rebel movement.
In its final communiqué, the summit, which among other things discussed security issues, called for the “cessation of hostilities by the rebel group M23 and its immediate withdrawal from positions currently occupied” in North Kivu, an eastern province. of the DRC.
The Heads of State of the Community showed their adherence to “the Luanda roadmap”, defined during a recent Angola-DRC-Rwanda tripartite summit, which provides for “the cessation of hostilities by the rebel group M23 and its immediate withdrawal from occupied positions” on Congolese territory. Only the M23 has already indicated that it is not concerned by these resolutions.
The movement is fighting the Congolese army in the east of the country and has seized the town of Bunagana for about two months.
While Rwanda is accused by the DRC of supporting this movement – a situation which has blurred relations between Kinshasa and Kigali – the Congolese Head of State, Félix Tshisekedi, called, in his opening speech for the summit, for the return of normal relationships.
He said he personally deplored “the rise in tension” between his country and Rwanda, and wished to see the situation return “to normal with the goodwill and determination of all”.
The summit also spoke about the situations prevailing in certain countries of the organization. ECCAS, created in 1983, comprises eleven member states, including Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe and Chad. . The DRC has held the rotating presidency since last January.
By OMA Newsletter N° 793 of 07/26/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
