The Summit is a follow-up of the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC Organ Troika plus the DRC and Troop Contributing Countries to the SADC Mission in the DRC, which was held on Tuesday, chaired by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics Defence and Security Cooperation.

East African Community leaders have urged DRC President Félix Tshisekedi to engage with M23 rebels to de-escalate the conflict.

President William Ruto took a bold step to address the escalating conflict and deteriorating situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ruto appealed to DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame to heed the call for peace from the people of EAC and the international community.

East African leaders have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC amid fighting that

KINSHASA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), promised late Wednesday a "vigorous response" to advances of March 23 Movement (M23) rebels in the eastern DRC, amid peace efforts by regional groups.

In April 2022, EAC leaders met in Nairobi, Kenya, and agreed to establish a regional force to be deployed in eastern DRC to facilitate dialogue between the warring parties. While the DRC government and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire, tensions persisted.

Through spokesperson Tina Salama, President Tshisekedi said he could not attend the virtual meeting due to a scheduling conflict. The DRC leader, who has recently shown little interest in EAC matters, skipped the last Heads of State Summit in Arusha late last year without apology.

Insults are flying on both sides of the border, with diplomatic language tossed aside. Addressing ambassadors on 16 January, Paul Kagame did not mince his words. “I know leaders when I see them, and I also know idiots when I see them,” he said. “You can [imagine] the combination of both of them, the disaster it is.”

DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi said on Thursday that his troops were mounting a military response as Rwanda-backed M23 fighters advanced in the east of the country .

Angolan President João Lourenço received his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi for a joint analysis of the steps to be taken within the framework of the Luanda Process, after the situation created with the seizure of Goma by rebel forces.

The president of crisis-hit Democratic Republic of Congo was set to meet his Rwandan counterpart at an emergency summit on Wednesday, as fighters backed by Kigali appeared on the brink of seizing the key city of Goma.

Speaking to BBC Newshour while being locked down in a UN bunker in the city, the deputy head of the UN force, Vivian van de Perre, said the M23 rebels had "established" themselves in Goma, but were still facing "pockets of resistance".