The Facilitator of the EAC-Led Nairobi Process on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in eastern DRC, Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, this Tuesday called an urgent meeting with the East African Community (EAC) Technical Advisors.
The main agenda of the meeting was stated to be the review of the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This comes following the concerns as a serious escalation of fighting, targeted killings are consequently reported in Ituri and North Kivu regions.
The deteriorating certainty of peace in the Central African country turns out to be against the previous Nairobi Principles and the Luanda Agreement that called for calm, unity, and a cessation of hostilities.
“The Facilitator expressed his deep concern about the serious violation of the Nairobi Principles and the Luanda Agreement. We need an urgent return to dialogue and consultation in order to promote trust and confidence among the parties to the conflict and alleviate the suffering of the people in eastern DRC,” read the statement.
The tensions arising between Rwanda and DRC are mainly causative of the M23 Rebel Group, which is blamed on Rwanda for the funding and push according to Western Powers. An allegation that Rwanda has incessantly taken a stand against.
Reports of encounters that depict the rivalry between the two nations have steadily been on the rise, this involves; DRC police clashing with Rwandan Soldiers on a small island in lake Kivu, another incident is where Police stationed on Ibindja Island in eastern DRC challenged three boats carrying armed Rwandan troops as they approached their base on Saturday leaving one officer with a gunshot wound.
Additionally last week’s attack by Rwandan forces fired at a DRC fighter jet with claims that it had violated its airspace. An accusation that Congo denied instead pointing the attack as an act of war.
Despite all the ensuing events, former President Uhuru Kenyatta assured of the commitment by the EAC to restoration of peace in eastern DRC and the whole of the East African Community.
“The Facilitator remains committed to the course of building peace in eastern DRC and continues to call on regional leaders and the international community to lend their political goodwill and support to the full realization of the EAC-Led Nairobi Peace Process for the Restoration of Peace and Stability in eastern DRC,” Tuesday’s statement added.
Further, the Facilitator called on regional leaders and the International Community at large to take part in assisting the peace resolvement process to be a success.
