Leaders from eastern and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are threatening to overthrow the Congolese government.

Leaders of Eastern and Southern African regional blocs met for an unprecedented joint summit on Saturday to find a solution to a conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels’ rapid advance since January has fanned fears of a wider war.

Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo urged

Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi will take part in a joint summit of Eastern and Southern African leaders starting on Friday to discuss the conflict in its east, where Rwandan-backed rebels are seizing more territory.

Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs gather in Tanzania on Saturday to seek a solution to the conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels have seized a major city in the worst escalation of fighting in more than a decade.

Leaders across Africa have asked defense chiefs to come up with a roadmap to end the conflict in eastern Congo. Their crisis talks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea come as the long-running war escalates.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi joined a summit in Tanzania on Saturday where regional leaders called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Democratic Republ

Leaders of the regional blocs met for a joint summit to find a solution to the conflict and the rapid advance of Rwanda-backed rebels.