Former Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta appointed to mediate crisis in Eastern DRC

The leaders of East African Community, EAC, have appointed former Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta to broker political negotiations to end the security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the army is facing some 100 armed groups.
The appointment came during a high-level meeting on the sideline of ongoing COP27 in Egypt. Leaders of Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, DRC Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde were in attendance.
“The high-level meeting commended H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta for accepting the role of facilitating the peace process in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and for his leadership and efforts to boost the peace process,” the final communique of the summit said.
The community appoints Uhuru after it has started deploying troops to eastern DRC where rebels groups including high profile M23 groups are very active.
The appointment comes as the Congolese army carries out airstrikes against M23 positions around Goma. The army Tuesday morning conducted airstrikes with Soukhoï-25 jets to pound the position of the rebel group which took control of several localities in recent months.
Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing the rebel group. Kigali has denied any wrongdoing.
Monday, Rwandan authorities accused Congo of violating its airspace after a fighter jet Sukhoï-25 type entered its territory. Congo admitted the incident but indicated that the aircraft was not weaponized.