LEADERS from eastern and southern Africa on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed militias are threatening to overthrow the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

The African leaders also urged DR Congo’s president to directly negotiate with the M23 militia — named for the March 23 2009 peace agreement signed by its predecessor, the National Congress for the Defence of the People, and the DR Congo.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who attended the summit in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam by video conference, has previously said he would never talk to the M23 militia he sees as bent on exploiting his country’s vast mineral wealth.