Former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia have been appointed by the Southern African Development Community and East African Community blocs as facilitators of the regional peace process in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The move follows an extraordinary summit of heads of state from the EAC and SADC held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania earlier this month to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, where the M23 rebels are battling government forces.
Congo’s Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday that fighting in eastern Congo has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 people this year
The rebel group has intensified its territorial control in eastern Congo since December, seizing the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
