• Uhuru Kenyatta has called for the declaration of a weapons-free zone in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
• The Kenyan president is co-organising inter-Congolese discussions under the Nairobi Process.
• He demanded the activation of the East African Regional Force.

Uhuru Kenyatta, president of Kenya, has demanded an immediate end to the violence that has claimed lives and destroyed property in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Kenyatta, co-organizer of the inter-Congolese discussions under the Nairobi Process, asked all armed factions, foreign and domestic, to quickly and unconditionally lay down their arms and commit to a political process.

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The Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-affiliated armed group, is regarded as the deadliest of the dozens of armed militias that prowl the mineral-rich eastern DRC.

Kenyatta stated that plans for the deployment of a regional force will be finalised at a Sunday meeting of regional commanders slated in Nairobi.

He demanded the activation of the East African Regional Force, which he said should be deployed immediately to the Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces to stabilise the region and maintain peace in support of the DRC security forces.

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