President Ruto attends high-level meeting on insecurity in DR Congo

The meeting, according to President Ruto, focused on ways for the nations present to harmonize their approaches and collaborate with Angola to ensure peace in the DRC.

According to Dr Ruto, insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to deny the region the opportunity to engage economically and prosper.

Burundi President General Evariste Ndayishimiye, Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Tanzania's Samia Suluhu, and DRC Prime Minister Lukonde Sama all attended the meeting.

The meeting, held in Sharma El-Sheikh, Egypt, takes place just days after Kenya announced a military deployment to the troubled Eastern DRC region.

Eastern DRC is home to hundreds of armed groups, many of which emerged as a result of full-fledged wars that broke out in the 90s.

Regional tensions have recently been rising as a result of recent territorial gains made by the M23 rebel group, which Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of supporting.

The seven-nation East African Community announced in June that a regional military force - commanded by Kenya - would be established to bring peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The EAC comprises Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and the DRC itself.

Fighting between the Congolese Armed Forces and the M23 has displaced approximately 50,000 people, 12,000 of whom have sought refuge in Uganda, according to the UN.