EAC and SADC regional blocs to hold joint summit in Tanzania in bid to address eastern DRC crisis

The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have agreed to come together for a high-level joint summit later this week (7-8 February) in a bid to find a common ground on the escalating crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
This follows an agreement between the Chairman of SADC chair, Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa and his EAC counterpart, Kenyan president William Ruto. “President Samia Suluhu Hassan has graciously agreed to host the summit to deliberate on the situation in eastern DRC,” President Ruto announced. At the front of the agenda of the two-day meeting in Tanzania’s capital city Dar es Salaam will be the escalating crisis caused by a war between M23 rebels and the Congolese army. Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, who is accused of pulling the strings of the M23 insurgents, have also agreed to attend the emergency regional summit.
The urgency of the meeting follows the recent eruption of clashes between the rebels and Congolese army amid the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive on Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and its continuing push in South Kivu. This has triggered a major humanitarian crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands displaced as the rebels vow to march on for more territory, including to the capital Kinshasa, despite condemnations from the African Union and the European Union. Despite having different views on conflict resolution, both regional organizations, EAC and SADC, expressed the need for a joint meeting as soon as possible to align their positions and mitigate the risk of regional escalation. The leaders are also expected to focus on a wide range of other pressing regional challenges, with particular attention on security concerns, economic cooperation, and sustainable development across the African continent.