Following a lightning onslaught, the rebel forces of M23 movement allegedly backed by Rwanda took control of nearly the whole city of Goma, a vital hub for the trade of minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in late January 2025.

DRC President Refuses to Participate in Emergency EAC Summit on Situation in the Country

18:07, 29 January 2025

Christina Glazkova

Writer / Editor

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In recent weeks, DRC media reported M23 rebels capturing cities, including the two-million-strong Goma this past Sunday. The escalation of the conflict has claimed over a hundred military lives, and for five days, Goma has lacked water, electricity, and mobile communication.

Sputnik

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi has rejected Kenyan President William Ruto's offer to attend an emergency summit of the East African Community (EAC), Congolese portal Actualite reported on Wednesday.

"President Felix Tshisekedi is closely monitoring the developments in the eastern part of the country," the portal cited a statement from Tshisekedi’s Deputy Head of Communications, Giscard Kusema. "He will not participate in the meeting initiated by President William Ruto."

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On Monday, Ruto announced that an emergency EAC summit would be held "within the next 48 hours" following consultations with regional heads of state. He expressed "grave concern" over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the context of military operations and the closure of airspace over the city of Goma.

As of now, the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has not denied his participation in the summit.