30th October 2022, Addis Ababa: The current Chair of the African Union and President of Senegal, President Macky Sall, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, have expressed their extreme concern at the deteriorating security situation in Eastern provinces in the DRC.
They called on all the parties to establish an immediate ceasefire, respect international law, the safety and security of civilians and the stability at the borders of all countries in the region.
They urged all stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue within the existing mechanism of the African Union’s Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region, and the East African Community’s Inter-Congolese peace dialogue.
“In this regard, they call all the parties to participate in good faith in the third Inter-Congolese peace dialogue in Nairobi from 4th to 13th November 2022,” reads a joint statement issued by African Union on Sunday.
They expressed their full support to the Luanda Roadmap aimed at normalising the political relations between the DRC and Rwanda stressing that the initiatives by the AU, EAC and ICGLR are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
The two leaders encouraged President J Lorenço in his mission as the facilitator of a constructive dialogue between the two brother countries DRC and Rwanda.
The DR Congo government said on Saturday it was expelling Kigali’s envoy, Vincent Karega, over what it said was Rwanda’s backing for the M23 rebels making fresh inroads in the east of the country.
Rwanda, which denies the accusation, on Sunday, expressed regret at the decision, adding that its troops at the two countries’ border were on “high alert”.
Mogadishu bombing
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has condemned in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack that killed more than 100 innocent civilians and wounded many more in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 29 October 2022.
The Chairperson expressed the African Union’s s heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
He conveyed the AU’s solidarity with the Government and people of Somalia, at this difficult time.
The Chairperson reaffirmed the continued determination of the African Union, including through the African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), to support the Somali government and people in their efforts to achieve sustainable peace and security in the country.
The Chairperson reiterated his appeal to the international community to redouble its efforts to ensure robust international support to Somalia’s institutions in their struggle to defeat terrorist groups in order to consolidate the key security gains made in recent years.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Sunday that 100 people were killed and close to 300 others were injured in the two car bombings while appealing to the international community to send doctors and medical supplies to treat the wounded.
Mohamud urged the public to go to the hospitals and donate blood for those injured in the attack and vowed to give free education to the children left behind by the victims killed in Saturday’s attacks as well as the children of deceased victims of other al-Shabab attacks.
