Southern Africa Leaders To Discuss DR Congo Crisis

Leaders from the Southern African Bloc of Nations, SADC are gathering in Namibia for an extraordinary meeting that will focus on the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Report says tensions have been running high between Rwanda and the government in Kinshasa, which accuses Kigali of financing a big rebel group in eastern DR Congo. Rwanda denies the accusations.

Peace efforts
The meeting is expected to discuss the state of peace and security in the region, with a particular focus on developments in DR Congo and Mozambique.

Meanwhile, Angola, one of the member states, has been trying to firm up peace efforts between Rwanda and DR Congo, which escalated last week when the Rwanda military shot and damaged a fighter jet from the Congolese army.

This summit in Windhoek is also expected to renew efforts at bringing peace to the region and look into recent unrest in Lesotho and Eswatini, in particular, after the killing of Eswatini human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist Thulani Maseko.

Report says Eswatini’s King Mswati III won’t be at the summit, but Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini will be expected to deliver a report on the political crisis and tension in the kingdom.

BBC/Christopher Ojilere