A mini-summit held under the chairmanship of Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyan head of state and current chair of the Community of East African States (EAC) concluded on Thursday, April 20.
Just a week after joining EAC, DRC has already established its presence in the organization. A regional mini-summit held Thursday in Nairobi under the chairmanship of Kenyan head of state and current chairman of the Community of East African States (EAC) Uhuru Kenyatta, decided to establish a "regional force to combat the negative forces" operating in the eastern DRC, according to a summit communiqué issued by the Kenyan presidency.
There is a decades-lasting tension between the DRC officials and neighboring countries that allegedly join forces with rebels. Congo's officials have openly urged the governments of all nations that may be involved in the process to withdraw any troops they have in DRC. Otherwise, they will be "considered as negative forces and fought militarily."
The participants agree "to accelerate the establishment and urgent deployment of an armed force to help combat the armed groups in eastern DRC," the communiqué reads. East African countries' representatives also issued a warning to armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, urging them to "choose dialogue or be considered enemies of all."
The presidents of the DRC (Felix Tshisekedi), Burundi (Evariste Ndayishimiye) and Uganda (Yoweri Museveni) attended the summit. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was represented by his Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta. Some observers comment Rwandan president absence as "meaningful."
At the summit, the participants also agreed to continue cooperation under a "participation, with observer status, of the UN Secretary General, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the Secretary General of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region, ICGLR, the Secretary General of the East African Community, EAC,". France and the US were named observers as well.
The DRC and South Sudan joined this regional bloc on March 8.
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