By McGeorge Mbare
The Southern African Development Community is set to convene a virtual extraordinary summit of the Organ Troika of heads of state along with troop contributing countries to the SADC mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo today.
The summit comes as the security situation in eastern DRC is showing no signs of easing as the M23 rebels continue to gain ground birthing a humanitarian crisis along the way.
In a statement, the SADC Secretariat stated this meeting will be chaired by the Chairperson of the Organ on politics, defence and security, Dr Samia Hassan, the president of Tanzania. Additionally the summit will provide a platform for SADC member states to discuss and coordinate their efforts in supporting the DRC in its quest for peace and stability.
“The summit will bring together Heads of state and government from Tanzania, the current SADC Organ Troika chair, Malawi as the incoming of the Organ, the Republic of Zambia as the Outgoing Chair of the Organ, South Africa as the troop contributing country to the SAMIDRC and the DR Congo. It’s primary focus is to address the peace and security concerns of the Eastern Part of the DR Congo,” the SADC Secretariat statement reads.
The humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been ongoing for a long period. This summit seeks to find solutions for these M23 rebel attacks and stabilise the region.