Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi will be present at the African Union (AU) summit this weekend but will not attend a key meeting on the ongoing crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his office confirmed on Thursday, February 13.
The AU Peace and Security Council is scheduled to discuss the escalating violence in the eastern DRC on Friday, yet Tshisekedi will be represented by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, according to the Congolese presidency.
The M23 rebel group, allegedly backed by Rwandan forces, advanced into South Kivu province on Wednesday after a brief lull in fighting. This follows their rapid January offensive, which saw them claim Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
A spokesperson for the AU’s Peace and Security Council could not confirm whether Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame would attend the meeting together in person.
The formal AU summit, which will take place on February 17-18, will include the election of the African Union Commission’s new president, the top leadership position in the pan-African organisation.
On Thursday, Tshisekedi’s office announced that he had arrived in Germany for the Munich Security Conference (February 14-16), where he aims to rally international support for a resolution to the DRC conflict.
The DRC has repeatedly urged the international community to impose sanctions on Rwanda, accusing it of backing the M23 rebels, but those calls have so far gone unanswered.
Eastern DRC has been plagued by violence for over 30 years, with the latest clashes resulting in at least 2,900 deaths, according to the United Nations.
Several nations and international organisations, including the UN, have called for Rwandan forces to withdraw from the eastern DRC and urged both sides to commit to de-escalation and a ceasefire.
