Ex-Leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria to Lead DRC Peace Process

Addis Ababa, February 26, 2025 (ENA)—African countries have appointed ex-Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, ex-Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta and ex-Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo as "facilitators" of a new peace process in the DRC.

Meanwhile an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor arrived Tuesday to investigate the upsurge in violence.

The M23 rebel group has in recent weeks seized two major cities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), giving the armed group a major foothold in the region since taking up arms again in late 2021.

It is the latest outbreak of violence in the mineral-rich region that has seen some three decades of unrest and war, claiming millions of lives.

"We are extremely worried about recent developments in Congo, we know the situation particularly in the east is acute," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told reporters on his arrival in the capital Kinshasa.

Two regional African blocs -- the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) -- have come together in recent weeks in an attempt to install a ceasefire.

They said late Monday that ex-Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta, ex-Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and ex-Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo had been appointed "facilitators" of a new peace process.

The EAC and SADC agreed at a summit on February 8 to merge two separate peace processes—o based in Luanda and Nairobi—that were operating before the latest escalation of violence.

The statement from the EAC and SADC said their key goals were an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire" as well as humanitarian supplies and securitisation of the airport at Goma.

It said they would hold a ministerial meeting on Friday to "work on the details of the ceasefire".

DRC Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka said Monday that "more than 7,000" people have been killed in the region since January. The numbers could not be independently verified.