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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 30255, member: 2262"] SADC leader President Mnangagwa started talking with East African Community head President William Ruto about meeting soon. They need to create guidelines for five former African presidents who will try to fix the fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. These plans follow after both regional groups held an online meeting Monday, during which they picked the special peace team. The peace team includes past presidents Olusegun Obasanjo from Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta from Kenya, Kgalema Motlanthe from South Africa, Catherine Samba Panza from the Central African Republic, and Sahle-Work Zewde from Ethiopia. Both current presidents must meet within seven days to tell this group exactly what they should do and how they should do it. Foreign Affairs Minister Professor Amon Murwira said they began planning but haven't picked an exact day yet. He explained that the upcoming meeting will spell out what tasks the panel needs to handle. The former leaders will help the warring sides talk to each other, including the Congo government and M23 rebels, to solve problems through peaceful talks instead of guns. The panel will also ask world leaders for help with emergency supplies, money for rebuilding, and resources for damaged communities. The United Nations Security Council praised both African groups for trying to stop the fighting. They strongly condemned M23 rebels for attacking eastern Congo and demanded they stop fighting right away, leave all areas they control, and end their fake government. The UN told Rwanda's army to stop helping these rebels and pull out of Congo territory without any conditions. They asked all sides to agree to stop fighting immediately, as both African groups requested earlier. M23 rebels keep moving south toward Bukavu city, trying to control more land after already capturing Goma city. M23 got its name from March 23, 2009, and represents the newest group of Tutsi fighters battling Congo forces. They started fighting again in 2022. The group claims Congo's government broke peace promises about including Tutsi people in army jobs and government positions. This latest fighting continues decades of conflict over power, identity, and resources. The long war killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. Reports show at least 7,000 people have died just since January this year. Over 600,000 people had to leave their homes because of fighting since November 2024. African leaders hope the panel of former presidents can finally bring peace to this troubled region. [/QUOTE]

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