NAIROBI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The security and humanitarian crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can only be resolved through dialogue, a regional peace mediator said Thursday.
Kanze Dena, the spokesperson of Kenyan former President Uhuru Kenyatta who is also the facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi Process, said that the Luanda Process, a peace initiative launched in 2022 and endorsed by the African Union, and the Nairobi Process hold the greatest promise for a resolution and termination of the crisis in the eastern DRC.
"The two processes are complementary and interdependent," Dena told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The Nairobi Process was structured around political dialogue which involved political factions as well as military intervention through the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force to provide peacekeeping support.
Dena noted that it is only through the close coordination of the bilateral negotiations between Rwanda and DRC and the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and Conferencing Process that the ongoing crisis can be brought to a fruitful conclusion.
Dena observed that Kenyatta remains committed to finding pathways to peace, in collaboration with DRC, regional partners as well as international stakeholders.
The remarks came as Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and a key regional hub, remained in turmoil after the March 23 Movement rebels on Jan. 26 said that they had taken control of the city, a claim the Congolese government has not recognized.
Leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East Africa Community (EAC) are due to hold a joint summit in Tanzania on Friday and Saturday to discuss the situation in the eastern DRC. This follows an agreement between the Chairman of SADC who is also the President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto who is also the EAC chairperson.
Ruto said Monday that President Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda have confirmed attendance at the meeting, which will be preceded by a ministerial meeting Friday before the heads of state convene Saturday.
