Foreign Affairs ministers from member countries of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), yesterday, met in Luanda, Angola, to discuss security and humanitarian situation in the region, with a special focus on the Burundi crisis.     

The ministers met ahead of the extra-ordinary summit of ICGLR’s  Heads of State and Government in Luanda, due Monday.

The summit will also focus on security and humanitarian situations in other countries of the region, including in the Central African Republic, the DR Congo, and South Sudan.

Earlier in the week, defence chiefs and ministers from the bloc also met in Luanda.  

In Burundi, the security situation remains tense in the capital Bujumbura since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term in office, which has been greeted with violent protests and a failed coup attempt.

The protests in Burundi have so far resulted in the death of more than 20 people while more than 50,000 others have since fled to Rwanda, Tanzania and the DR Congo over the past one month.

The ICGLR’s member states include Angola, Burundi, Republic of Congo, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.