President Uhuru Kenyatta is presiding over a high-level meeting to discuss the security situation in eastern DRC.
The meeting comes amid increased efforts within the EAC bloc to end hostilities in the eastern part of the DRC.
Several Eastern African Community heads of state arrived in the country on Monday for the peace talks.
The conclave is being attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi), Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan) and Felix Tshisekedi (DR Congo).
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan will be represented at the meeting by the country’s ambassador to Kenya, High Commissioner John Stephen Simbachawene.
President Kenyatta called for a cessation of hostilities between armed groups in Eastern DRC last week in order to facilitate their participation in the country’s political process.
He stated that the ongoing hostilities, in particular, threaten to derail the ongoing political process (the political track) aimed at addressing the region’s security situation.
“I note with concern that recent developments, including open hostilities, pose a serious threat to the success of the regional leadership’s work, including the promotion of the Nairobi Process’s Inter-Congolese (DRC) consultations,” President Kenyatta said.
The President demanded that all hostilities in the Eastern DRC cease immediately and that all armed groups, both foreign and domestic, lay down their arms.
