Presidents call for urgent regional peace summit

Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda called on the chairman of the African Union on Thursday to convene an "urgent regional summit" on peace in the Great Lakes area. The summit would reaffirm the principles of the Lusaka agreement, review the work for the "immediate implementation" of the Luanda and Pretoria agreements, and call on all parties to fulfil their obligations under these deals. The accords oblige all states to withdraw their forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Congolese militias to end their rebellion. Rwanda has reported the complete withdrawal of its forces while, with the consent of the United Nations, Uganda has maintained a small military presence for civilian security in the Ituri region of northeastern DRC. On the government side, Namibia has withdrawn its forces, while Angola and Zimbabwe each still maintain a small presence. The presidents' appeal was contained in a joint communique released at the end of their meeting in London, facilitated by British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short. The talks, described as "positive and open", covered relations between Rwanda and Uganda and security issues in the region, pertaining mostly to the wars in Burundi and the DRC. Both men vowed "to work together" to ensure that the Burundi rebel faction led by Peter Nkurunziza and another rebel group led by Agathon Rwasa, join the ceasefire in Burundi. This was the second review of the understanding between Kagame and Museveni signed in London on 5 November 2001. The first was in Uganda in February 2002. In their communique, both men reaffirmed their commitment not to interfere in the political and security affairs in each other's country. "We rededicate ourselves to do whatever is required to creating a good understanding between our two countries," Kagame said in London.