The 24th EAC Extraordinary Summit on the DRC on Wednesday called on Congo to directly engage M23 and other armed groups in the east for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
President Felix Tshisekedi has maintained he will not dialogue with the M23, and has instead declared he will crush them militarily.
The Summit also decided to urgently convene a joint EAC-SADC summit to discuss the way forward.
In this regard, President William Ruto, the EAC chairman, was mandated to consult with SADC counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa and facilitate the meeting “in the next few days”.
President Tshisekedi of the DRC for which the meeting was about gave the summit a wide berth, triggering angry reaction from Rwanda President Paul Kagame, who has been accused of backing M23 rebels.
“Even now as we are talking the person or the country we are talking about is not represented as we are discussing and the country is supposed to be part of the EAC. But nowhere to be represented.
“So I am not sure what bearing what we are discussing has on what happens in the process of finding a solution in this country,” a visibly angry President Kagame told the EAC heads of state.
While he skipped the summit, President Tshisekedi gave a national address in which he declared that Congo will not let itself be humiliated or crushed, and once again accused Rwanda of sending “thousands of soldiers” to the eastern DRC.
“A heavy, vigorous and coordinated fight against these terrorists [read M23] is in progress,” Tshisekedi said, despite hundreds of Congolese forces surrendering to the M23 and losing arms and equipment.
Additionally, some mercenaries from Romania estimated at close to 300 who were fighting alongside the Congolese forces also surrendered to the UN peacekeepers and were moved to Rwanda side for forward travel back to their country.
At the same time, Kagame lambasted the EAC leaders for “keeping quiet” after the East Africa Community Regional Force, which he said was making progress, was expelled from the DRC last year, and SADC forces brought in to do what Tshisekedi wanted.
The Summit also condemed the attack on embassies by protesters in Kinshasa,
