Ex-Kenya president Uhuru calls for ceasefire amid escalation of hostilities, killings in DRC

Mr. Kenyatta, as facilitator of the EAC-led Nairobi Process on the Restoration of Peace and Stability in the Eastern Congo, urged all parties involved in the violence to halt their armed offensives and hostilities immediately.

He added that the ceasefire will allow continued unhindered and sustained humanitarian access and provide a chance to restore calm in the region.

Clashes between rebel groups have intensified in the last week as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that at least 20 civilians have been killed and 30 more have been wounded since October 1.

Congo's mineral-rich eastern region has been ravaged by militia violence for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that erupted in the 1990s and 2000s.

Since a late 2021 insurgency, the Tutsi-led rebel group M23 has seized swathes of territory in North Kivu.

DR Congo has repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the rebels, a charge Kigali denies, although the United States, several other Western countries, and UN experts say Rwanda is backing the rebels.

Meanwhile,  the East African Community (EAC) has proposed an extension of the East African Community Regional Forces (EACRF)’s mandate in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) until peace is fully restored.

EACRF’s term was due to expire on September 8 but regional heads of state extended the mandate to December 8 during a meeting in Nairobi on September 5.