Leaders from the Southern African Development Community and the East African Community emerged from a crisis summit in Tanzania with a joint demand: an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by direct talks among all parties within five days. The meeting brought together heads of state and government representatives confronting an escalation that had already displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed thousands since the start of the year.
The summit's communique framed diplomacy as the only durable path out of the crisis. It called for political engagement rather than a military solution and urged the reopening of Goma airport and other key routes so humanitarian aid could reach people trapped by the fighting. Army chiefs were also told to develop a security plan for Goma and surrounding areas, signaling that the blocs were preparing for continued instability even as they pressed for a stop to hostilities.
The immediate focus was the advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who have seized large parts of eastern Congo, including Goma, and pushed toward Bukavu. Their gains have raised fears that the conflict could spill beyond Congo's borders and draw in neighboring states. The BBC reported that the latest UN figures suggested about 2,900 people had been killed since early January, with around 700,000 displaced and thousands more injured. Those numbers gave the summit a stark humanitarian backdrop and explained the urgency of the ceasefire demand.
The summit also exposed the regional and political complexity of the crisis. Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi appeared by video link, while Prime Minister Judith Suminwa attended in person. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was also present and again denied any support for the rebels, even as the BBC cited UN experts who say Rwanda's army is in de facto control of M23 operations. Kagame later posted on Facebook accusing Congo of mounting a security problem against Rwanda. The Congolese delegation did not immediately respond to the communique, leaving the public reaction to the summit incomplete.
The leaders were blunt about the limits of force. Kenyan President William Ruto, who chairs the EAC, warned against believing that the crisis could be solved through bombardment or battlefield victories. Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said regional leaders had a collective responsibility to act and warned that history would judge them harshly if they stood by while the situation worsened. Their comments underlined the summit's central message: the conflict had moved beyond a local rebellion and now threatened regional security.
For Congo's eastern provinces, however, the summit produced a political demand rather than immediate relief. The rebels were told to enter talks within five days, the armed forces were told to prepare for Goma's defense and aid routes, and the regional blocs asked foreign armed groups to leave Congolese territory. That combination of ceasefire pressure, humanitarian access, and security planning reflected the scale of the emergency, but the absence of an immediate Congolese response meant the test would come in what the fighters did next.
