Brazzaville, ANGOLA, October 19 - Angola's engagement in addressing various situations of conflict in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), Burundi and South Sudan was highlighted Thursday by the President of Republic, João Lourenço. ,

 

The Angolan Statesman was taking stock of the country's two consecutive terms at the helm of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).

 

João Lourenço highlighted the support the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union provided to the country.

 

Among the European Union countries, the Statesman referred mainly to France, which mobilised means and men to counteract situations that could spiral out of control in those countries.

 

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 7th Summit of ICGLR, João Lourenço said that as for DRC, the efforts were made to put an end to the presence of negative forces that fomented chaos in the country's eastern region.

 

He spoke above all of the presence in the DRC of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and the dismantlement of the M-23 Congolese militias.

 

According to him, there was substantial progress that led to the establishment of a national dialogue between the government, opposition parties and other civil society forces to ensure a climate conducive to the elections in time.

 

The Angolan head of State condemned strongly the attack on 9 October 2008 at the premises of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MONUSCO) in North Kivu.

 

The president, who sent condolences to the bereaved families, said that attack claimed the lives of two blue helmets and 18 Tanzanian members injured.

 

On the other hand, the president also quoted

Angola's effort to welcome thousands of refugees from DRC fleeing an unnecessary and cruel war.

 

As for the Central African Republic (CAR), the president praised exemplary political transition of that country, which led to the election of its President, Faustin Archange Touadéra.

 

On Burundi, the president said that an inclusive dialogue had been established between the government and all living forces in society.

 

The dialogue aimed at addressing the post-election crisis caused by the misinterpretation the country's Constitution on presidential mandates.

 

João Lourenço regretted the ongoing situation in South Sudan, where the central government and opposing forces failed to reach agreement, despite CIRGL's efforts.

 

The outgoing ICGLR President praised the support by the United Nations. Of the 15 peacekeeping missions in the world, eight are from Africa, five with the Great Lakes Region.

 

The Statesman said that currently DRC takes the world’s largest peacekeeping mission( MONUSCO), with a total of 21, 607 staff, followed by Darfur/Sudan (UNAMID) with 18,956 members.

 

While, South Sudan has 16,987 personnel.

 

CIRGL comprises Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

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