Eastern DRC peace is sought by President Ramaphosa
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has demanded a stop to the fighting in the eastern portion of the country.
The President was speaking at the end of the Force Intervention Brigade Troop Contributing Countries and Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit Plus of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Namibia on Monday.
Reports on the security situation in the DRC and the deployment of the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) were presented to the summit.
The report on the deteriorating security situation in the eastern DRC has been taken note of with alarm by South Africa. We demand that the illegal armed organizations and all who support them stop what they are doing right away. We denounce the actions of these groups. We firmly believe that the people of the DRC deserve peace and development since the fighting has continued for far too long, said President Ramaphosa.
The battle between armed groups and government forces, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, has resulted in the displacement of more than 800 000 people since March of last year.
South Africa is prepared to help with attempts to bring peace to the area, according to President Ramaphosa.
“South Africa stands ready to contribute to the creation of regional tools that are effective and could help stabilize the current security environment in the Eastern DRC. Therefore, we are in favor of the requirement that long-term planning be incorporated into the SADC Peace and Security Architecture, the official stated.
The conflict is reportedly receiving “sharp focus” not only at the SADC conference but also from the African Union and other regional organizations, according to the presidency.