EAC and SADC expand team of mediators for the Congo conflict

HARARE, Zimbabwe

The East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have expanded the team of mediators for the Congo conflict following a virtual meeting on Monday. 

They two blocks doubled down on their efforts to bring peace between DR Congo, the M23 rebels and Rwanda by appointing additional former heads of state to steer the mediations. 

Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo remain on the team, while former Ethiopian president Sahle-Work Zewde replaces another ex-Ethiopian leader, Hailemariam Desalegn. 

Former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and ex-Central African Republic president Catherine Samba-Panza were added, enlarging the group to five from three to improve "gender, regional and language inclusivity", according to a communique issued after the summit. 

The moves come after Angola, through its presidency, stepped aside from the negotiations on Monday, citing other engagements on its mandate as the head of the African Union.  

In a statement, Angola said that it had recognized the need to shift its focus to broader continental priorities, including peace, infrastructure, economic development, and justice for Africans. 

Angola had also cited a series of failed negotiations and external interference. 

The negotiations also faced a setback Monday after the M23 went back on a pledge when they decided to withdraw from Walikale, another town they seized in the east of the DRC, claiming that the Congolese army was still in pursuit, continuing their offensive in the same region.