Foreign News

AU envoy urges ceasefire in eastern DRC amid offensives

Kenya’s African Union (AU) peace envoy, Uhuru Kenyatta, has called for a ceasefire in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where fighting has led to the loss of lives and property as well as mass displacements.

Kenyatta, the former Kenyan President who is also the East African Community (EAC) facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Consultations and Dialogue on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in eastern DRC said he was concerned about the escalation of conflict and humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of the country.

“The EAC also condemns the escalating situation in parts of South Kivu and calls on all negative elements and armed groups to cease armed actions, voluntarily lay down their arms, and participate in the Nairobi Process and the National Disarmament and Demobilisation Programme,” he said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Kenyatta called on the parties to the current skirmishes to immediately halt their offensives, agree to a cessation of hostilities, allow for unhindered and sustained humanitarian access, withdraw and vacate from occupied areas and pursue a negotiated settlement through peace talks.

“The EAC denounces all violence against civilians and calls on all parties to recognise that there is no military solution to the conflict and embrace a peaceful means to the settlement,” Kenyatta said.

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