DR Congo: East and southern African leaders urge immediate ceasefire after summit

Leaders from east and southern Africa call on all warring parties - including the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels - to meet within five days.

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At a crisis summit in Tanzania, the Southern African Development Community and East African Community (EAC) blocs urged all warring parties to hold peace talks within five days, including with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

The rebels - fighting government forces - have seized vast swathes of land in the eastern DR Congo, including the city of Goma. Their push towards Bukavu has raised fears of a wider regional war.

As part of their talks, army chiefs have also been told to draw up a security plan for Goma and surrounding areas.

The latest UN figures suggest 2,900 people have been killed since early January, as a result of the hostilities between M23 and armed forces of the DR Congo.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew5q04q427o

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