EAC Presidents Call for Ceasefire in DRC as Tshisekedi Snubs Ruto Meeting

The Eastern African Community (EAC) Heads of State called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, January 29, as M23 rebels cement their control of Goma. 

According to a communiqué from the 24th Extraordinary Summit, called by President William Ruto, seven heads of State were present, including Paul Kagame of Rwanda, but Felix Tshisekedi was not. 

“The summit called on all parties to the conflict in Eastern DRC to cease hostilities and observe immediate and unconditional ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian access to the affected population,” reads part of the agreement from the EAC Summit.

The EAC presidents further demanded, “For peaceful settlement of the conflicts, and strongly urged the government of the DRC to engage directly with all stakeholders, including the M23 and other armed groups that have grievances.”

Present at the virtual meeting were President Ruto (current Chairperson of the EAC), President Évariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), President Paul Kagame, President Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan), President Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), and President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda).

Tshisekedi snubbed the meeting by Ruto to discuss the security crisis in his country but confirmed attendance at a separate meeting convened by southern African countries, putting into doubt his commitment to the EAC bloc. There are deep underlying conflicts between the various leaders, with Tshisekedi being on record accusing Ruto of siding with Rwanda.

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. 

He is, however, expected to attend today’s extraordinary summit of the SADC on the same matter in Zimbabwe. While it remains unclear whether the snub has left a foul smell among the EAC presidents, analysts had indicated it was going to take some doing for President Ruto to gather Tshisekedi and Kagame in one room virtual or not.

The EAC called for a joint summit with the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which is already in talks with the DRC.

“Noting that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also been involved in eastern DRC, the summit decided on a joint EAC-SADC summit to deliberate on the way forward and mandated the chairperson to consult with the chairperson of SADC on the urgent convening of the same in the next few days,” states the communiqué from the EAC.

On Tuesday, escalating violence broke out in DRC capital Kinshasa. Demonstrators attacked the embassies of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and the United Nations.

The African Union’s mediator between Rwanda and the DRC, Joao Lourenco, called for the “immediate withdrawal” of Rwanda’s troops from the DRC; however, Rwanda has insisted it has no troops in Congo.

A statement from Angola’s president’s office also called for leaders of both countries to urgently meet in Luanda to discuss the conflict.

Lourenco “appeals for the immediate withdrawal of the Rwanda Defence Forces from the Congolese territory” and the “convening of a tripartite summit in Luanda on an urgent basis,” it said.

Last month, a meeting between Tshisekedi and Kagame as part of an Angola-led peace process was cancelled due to a lack of agreement.