The President of South Sudan and Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC), Salva Kiir Mayardit, arrived in Rwanda on Thursday, February 22, for a working visit.

President Kiir arrived in Kigali accompanied by EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki.

The EAC Chairperson’s working visit to Kigali comes amidst heightened concern about the continuous tension in eastern DR Congo where M23 rebels are battling a Congolese government coalition. African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat has expressed his concern and, among others, reiterated his call for rapid de-escalation.

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Since early February, the M23 rebels have advanced towards Goma, the capital of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province, raising fears that they might take control of the city of an estimated two million people. Kigali has also urged the United Nations Security Council not to amplify allegations recurrently made by the Congolese government that Rwanda supports the M23 rebels.

The Congolese government continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebels – allegations Kigali dismisses. Rwanda has stressed that the conflict in eastern DR Congo is a result of internal problems including bad governance, ethnic discrimination, and violence, in DR Congo.

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In a February 21 statement, the AUC Chairperson called upon regional leaders, particularly those of DR Congo and Rwanda, to prioritize dialogue in the framework of the two African mechanisms led by President João Lourenço of Angola and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, with the goal of agreeing, in a collaborative and fraternal spirit, on a reasonable pathway to settle political differences, whatever their nature.

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The statement read: "The integrity, security, sovereignty, and stability of all states in the region must necessarily be assured, and the lives of the civilian population completely protected. The Chairperson of the Commission repeats forcefully that there will not be any military solution to problems and disagreements within the African family.”

The government of Rwanda has also noted that it was concerned about the eastern DR Congo conflict having spillover effects in the Great Lakes Region, at a time when the Congolese government had abandoned regional peace processes.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission also called upon "all foreign powers to completely abstain from all interference in the internal affairs of all African countries,” notably those of the Great Lakes Region.