Iran Press/ America: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday called for redoubling efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region.
Speaking at a high-level summit on Congo and the region in Burundi’s commercial capital Bujumbura, Guterres reiterated that both local and foreign armed groups in Congo must lay down their arms.
“I encourage the signatory countries, the African Union, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Southern African Development Community to redouble their efforts,” said Guterres.
The meeting attended by several regional leaders was convened to review progress and challenges on implementing the Regional Oversight Mechanism of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for Congo and the region, signed in Ethiopia in 2013.
At least 528 people have been killed and 4,599 wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on 15 April. The UN believes the actual number of casualties to be far higher.
The fighting in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has so far seen RSF forces fan out across the city as the army tries to target them largely by using airstrikes from drones and fighter jets.
The conflict has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing across Sudan’s borders and prompted warnings the country could disintegrate, destabilising a volatile region and prompting foreign governments to scramble to evacuate their nationals. 219
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