By CHIMPREPORTS
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has met with his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi at a mini-summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The meeting, which comes ahead of Saturday’s African Union Heads of State Summit, was aimed at silencing guns in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which has claimed thousands of lives and displaced many more.
Kagame and Tshisekedi were joined by South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco, Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo and African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki.
“The objective of this mini-summit is to think together to obtain a ceasefire between the DRC and the M23 rebels, and to attempt a possible direct dialogue between the Heads of State of Rwanda and DRC because the situation is deteriorating,” declared President Lourenco during the meeting on Friday.
The DRC presidency said in a brief note that, “this mini-summit discussed, among other things, the return to a constructive and reconciliatory dialogue between DRC and Rwanda, the immediate cessation of hostilities, the immediate withdrawal of the M23 from occupied areas and the launch of the process of confining this movement.
ChimpReports understands that President Kagame and Tshisekedi did not shake hands at the summit.
The meeting comes high on the heels of deteriorating relations between Rwanda and DRC over the M23 rebellion in the eastern part of the mineral-rich country.
The M23 rebels, whom DRC says are backed by Rwanda, have been trying to capture the strategic town of Skae, about 27 kms from Goma city.
Rwanda accuses DRC of aiding FDLR, a genocidal militia, to commit crimes against the Tutsi in Congo and also attack Rwandan territory.
The Congolese forces, with support from Tanzania and South African soldiers have kept the guerillas’ advances in check.
On February 12, Rwanda wrote to the United Nations Security Council, cautioning against providing logistical support for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).
Rwanda said the move could ignite a regional conflict.
Toll on civilians
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, earlier this week said it was deeply concerned by the dire consequences for civilians, including an estimated 135,000 internally displaced people fleeing the town of Sake towards the nearby provincial capital Goma.
UNHCR and partners said they were deeply alarmed by reports of bombs falling on civilian locations, including in the Zaina site in Sake and the Lushagala site in Goma, where as many as 65,000 internally displaced people are sheltering, raising significant concerns for their safety.
“The escalating use of heavy artillery and shelling in clashes around Goma poses grave threats to civilian and displaced populations, threatening more casualties and the destruction of buildings used as communal shelters,” said UNCHR.
“The presence of unexploded ordnance poses a particular threat to children. Since the first week of February, at least 15 civilians have been killed and 29 injured around Goma and Sake.”
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