APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – The security crisis in eastern DR Congo is currently on the top on the agenda during the 21st Extraordinary East African Community (EAC) Heads of State Summit which opened Wednesday in Bujumbura the capital city of Burundi, an authoritative source confirmed to APA in Kigali.
During their last meeting in February, regional leaders gathered in Bujumbura had, among others, also called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties; the withdrawal of all foreign armed groups, and directed their chiefs of defence forces to meet within one week and set new timelines for the withdrawal and recommend appropriate deployment matrix; that this process be accompanied by dialogue.
The summit reiterated then the need for implementation of the decisions and directives of the 22nd meeting of the summit of the EAC heads of state on the security situation in eastern DR Congo and directed all local armed groups in eastern DR Congo to embrace dialogue, lay down their arms and join the political process as a path towards unconditional disarmament and creation of an enabling environment for participation in upcoming democratic processes.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame was among leaders hosted by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, who is also the chair of the EAC.
Kinshasa currently faces accusations of abandoning the Luanda agreement, which called for the disarmament of militias like the FDLR, among other things.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (French: Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, FDLR) is an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
CU/abj/APA