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South Sudan president to visit Kinshasa for regional peace efforts

People gather at a busy road while carrying some of their belongings as they flee the Masisi territory following clashes between M23 rebels and government forces, at a road near Sake, the DRC, on February 7, 2024. (Photo: Aubin Mukoni/ AFP)

By Mwangi Maina | 11 Mar 2024

Both the DRC and Burundi accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 and Red Tabara rebels who have been wreaking havoc in the two countries.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who also chairs the East African Community (EAC), will on Monday visit the Democratic Republic of Congo to help ease tensions in the conflict-ridden nation.

According to an East African Community diplomatic source, Kiir will meet his host President Felix Tshisekedi.

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He recently visited Rwanda, and Burundi as EAC chair to try and ease frictions between the three neighbours, DRC and Burundi ganging up against Rwanda.

Kiir, himself facing ethnic clashes and political tensions in his country ahead of elections this year, aims to "stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions" in part by preventing a full-scale war.

He is accompanied by Kenyan Peter Mathuki, the embattled and recalled EAC's secretary-general.

Both the DRC and Burundi accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 and Red Tabara rebels who have been wreaking havoc in the two countries.

The Tutsi-dominated M23 rebels are fighting in the mineral-rich region, while the Red Tabara, a Burundian rebel group, killed a dozen civilians in a raid on a border village, leading to the closure of borders with Rwanda

Rwanda has denied allegations of backing the two groups.

Burundi, which neighbours Rwanda, became embroiled in the conflict after officially joining the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces fighting the M23 rebels in the Eastern DRC. This move turned the conflict regional.

Clashes by militant groups over territory and natural resources, and political violence have escalated the situation.

In addition to reports of mounting civilian deaths in Eastern DRC, the UN declared that the number of internally displaced people reached a record high of 6.9 million as fighting rendered a growing part of the country unsafe for civilians.

A Kenyan diplomat engaged in the Nairobi Process, a regional peace initiative to resolve the conflict in the Eastern DRC, told The Eastleigh Voice, "We shall de-escalate. Hold your horses."

Last week, the African Union Peace and Security Council endorsed last year's deployment of the Southern African Regional Force to the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In a statement released Saturday, the council asked the AU Commission to gather necessary support for the force, including from the AU Peace Fund Crisis Reserve Facility.