from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA & JEAN KASSONGO in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania Bureaus
DAR-ES-SALAAM, (CAJ News) – SUBPLOTS are brewing for the landmark summit of Africa’s East and Southern blocs over the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
These rifts are the forerunner of the joint East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit set for Tanzania on Saturday.
A ministerial meeting will precede the summit on Friday.
Nonetheless, according to humanitarian organisations, this is a window of opportunity to resolve the escalation of conflict in DRC and the Central African region
Allegations of bias by mediators where South Africa is being belittled and sucked into the row between DRC and Rwanda, the neighbouring country accused of backing the main rebel March 23 Movement (M23), have prevailed.
This arguably is the sternest test faced by both regional blocs, of which the troubled DRC holds dual membership.
Tanzania also has such duplicate membership, hence it has emerged the host of the summit.
Geographically in East Africa, it is revered in Southern Africa for spearheading independence of SADC countries’ liberation.
DRC is neither region but in Central Africa. It is a member of both blocs via treaties. It is also a member of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), relevant geographically.
From the onset, it remains to be seen if the EAC-SADC summit will succeed in bringing together the DRC president, Felix Tshisekedi, and his Rwanda counterpart, Paul Kagame, whose forces are allegedly backing the M23’s onslaught on eastern DRC has led to the belligerents seizing the strategic town of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province.
Previous attempts, most recently last week, failed after Tshisekedi snubbed the EAC virtual summit.
He argues EAC is biased towards Rwanda. Tshisekedi has openly called Kenyan president, William Ruto, a biased mediator, alleging is partial in favour of Rwanda.
This makes the situation tricky as SADC is seen as backing DRC.
Last week, Kagame described the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the DRC government and not a peacekeeping mission.
Another sideshow this could be the relations between Kagame and South African president, Ramaphosa, after Kagame went on a tirade against his counterpart, even accusing him “lying” after a telephone conversation between the two, as South Africa expressed displeasure at the killing of his troops in DRC, allegedly by the M23, which Rwanda is being accused of backing.
It remains unclear if it is the M23 or DRC national army that killed the 14 soldiers.
A diplomatic row has ensued between the two countries.
Humanitarian organisations meanwhile have welcomed the ceasefire by rebels but warned the arrangement is fragile.
The Alliance of Rebel Groups announced the ceasefire on “humanitarian grounds” earlier this week.
“This creates a vital opportunity for CARE and its partners to reach affected communities, assess urgent needs, and deliver life-saving aid in eastern DRC,” said Maina Kingori, Acting Country Director for CARE in DRC.
The agency noted the recent surge in conflict had devastating consequences, with the United Nations reporting more than 900 deaths and over 20 000 injuries.
Since January, at least 400 000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) expressed similar sentiments.
“We welcome the ceasefire, but stress that only a lasting peace can bring relief here and allow life-saving aid to reach those in desperate need,” Eric Batonon, NRC’s director for DRC, said.
The crisis in the minerals-rich DRC, formerly Zaire, is one of the most severe in the entire world. More than 7 million people are internally-displaced.
– CAJ News