Defense chiefs of East African Community, Southern African Development Community asked to meet within 5 days to provide technical direction to implement ceasefire, secure Goma - Anadolu Ajansı

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.

Their crisis talks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea come as the long-running war escalates.History will judge leaders in Africa who fail to end the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania warned her counterparts at the start of an emergency summit on the weekend.

Leaders from east and southern Africa call on all warring parties - including the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels - to meet within five days.

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.

Salaam, Tanzania, on Saturday was only a show of supposed unity and full of rosy speeches, but nothing hopeful to write home about, unless like they say, the walls saw more and decided not to share.

African leaders asked defense chiefs for a road map to end the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their emergency talks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea come as the long-running crisis escalates.