Rwanda’s Defence Minister Juvenal Marizamunda is scheduled to travel to Zambia (File photo)
LUSAKA — Defence ministers from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania are expected to meet in Zambia on October 18 to discuss joint efforts to address armed groups operating in the Great Lakes region.
The meeting will focus on guidelines for disarming and reintegrating fighters from foreign armed groups, according to Huang Xia, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region.
Huang announced the planned meeting while briefing the United Nations Security Council on the security situation in the region, particularly in eastern DR Congo.
The talks will bring together defence ministers from the five countries under the Contact and Coordination Group, a regional mechanism for coordinating and monitoring security activities.
The meeting is being organised in partnership with the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
Huang said the guidelines were intended to strengthen cooperation among the countries concerned and improve their response to armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Burundi’s RED-Tabara and FRN/M23.
The talks come amid persistent tensions among the neighbouring countries, which have traded accusations over support for armed groups operating in the region.
The meeting is expected to provide a forum for the five countries to coordinate their approach to disarmament and the reintegration of fighters as insecurity continues to affect parts of the Great Lakes region.
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