Great Lakes Summit seeks to deploy forces in DRC

By VPPS

Kenya’s Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka was among several Heads of State and Government who met in Kampala, Uganda, to receive a report from defence ministers from the region on how to deal with the conflict in Eastern DRC.

This came as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, announced he will host a high level meeting of Heads of State and Government from the Great Lakes region on the conflict on September 27 in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The report drawn up by ministers in charge of defence from countries sharing a border with DRC recommends far reaching measures including the immediate cessation of hostilities, the establishment of a 4,000 strong international neutral force to eliminate armed groups operating in Kivu Province among them M23, and the expansion of the Joint Verification Mechanism.

Border patrols

The force will comprise soldiers from African countries and is to be supported by African Union and UN.

Also present were Presidents Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Joseph Kabila (DRC) and host Yoweri Museveni as well as the Vice Presidents of Burundi and Zambia.

The defence ministers recommended the expansion of the joint Verification Mechanism to include border controls and patrols.

They said the joint intelligence fusion centre, established to collect and analyse intelligence reports on negative forces operating in the region was already active and requires support from all member states.

The joint Verification Mechanism is to be launched in Goma on two weeks.