African Union: Mahmoud Ali Youssouf warns of rising tensions in the Great Lakes region

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, has expressed deep concern over the rapid deterioration of the security situation in the Great Lakes region.

In a statement published on Thursday evening, he called the attention of the international community to the new violent clashes shaking South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well as Cibitoke Province in Burundi.

This violence, directly affecting already vulnerable civilian populations, threatens to plunge the region back into a spiral of lasting instability.

According to Mr. Mahamat, the ongoing fighting constitutes a flagrant violation of recently concluded political agreements, notably the Doha Framework Agreement signed between the DRC and the Alliance of the Congo River/March 23 Movements (AFC/M23), as well as the Washington Agreement linking Kinshasa and Kigali.

These texts, intended to ease tensions and pave the way for lasting stabilization, are now being undermined by the resurgence of clashes. Faced with this worrying escalation, the AUC Chairperson urged all stakeholders to exercise restraint, cease hostilities, and prioritize a political over a military solution.

Mahamat expressed his full solidarity with the civilian populations of South Kivu and Cibitoke, who are severely affected by the resurgence of violence.

He reaffirmed the African Union’s principled position: lasting peace in the Great Lakes region can only be built on strict respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state.

To this end, he firmly condemned any attempt to establish a parallel administration in eastern DRC, stating that such an act constitutes a direct threat to the constitutional order and regional stability.

The AUC Chairperson also reminded all states in the region of their obligation to honor commitments made under the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement and the Pact on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defence of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

To restore a climate of trust, he reiterated the African Union’s readiness to work closely with regional and international actors to relaunch an inclusive security dialogue the only genuine tool capable of ending the chronic instability shaking this part of the continent.