DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi will not attend a crisis meeting with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame scheduled for Wednesday, state media said, after M23 fighters allegedly backed by Rwanda entered the Congolese city of Goma.
Rwandan authorities have repeatedly denied accusations of supporting M23 fighters.
"The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, will not participate in the virtual summit of heads of state of the East African Community," the official Congolese Press Agency, ACP, said on Wednesday.
President Paul Kagame's spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the Rwandan leader would still attend the summit.
Details of the virtual EAC summit remain unclear.
Calls for withdrawals
International observers have urged a halt to the fighting, with the UN, the United States, China, and the European Union all calling on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the region.
Angola's president called on Wednesday for the "immediate withdrawal" of Rwandan troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo and for leaders of both countries to urgently meet in Luanda over the conflict.
President Joao Lourenco "appeals for the immediate withdrawal of the Rwanda Defence Forces from the Congolese territory" and the "convening of a tripartite summit in Luanda, on an urgent basis," a statement from his office said.
At a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, the DRC called on countries "to have the courage to do what is right."
➤Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
