LAGOS (AFP) — Nigeria has called on the African Union to hold emergency talks on the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a local daily said on Monday.
ThisDay cited Nigeria's Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe as proposing an urgent AU meeting as "the deteriorating character of the conflict in the Congo has become a major threat to continental peace and security".
Tanzania, which currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the AU, on Sunday said preparations were underway for a summit to be held next week in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
New clashes broke out August 28 between government troops and fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, who has wrested control of several strategic towns in eastern DRC.
Nkunda wants direct talks with the administration in Kinshasa, but government has rejected his demands.
The rebel leader has threatened to launch a campaign to overthrow the government if his offer for talks is turned down.
"We say we have to fight until we are going to get resolution of our problems through negotiations or if they ignore (that call), we are going to force them, to liberate Congo," Nkunda said.
Last week the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) rebels declared a ceasefire after surrounding Goma.
Western governments have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster in the vast central African nation.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, is among the largest contributors to African and UN peacekeeping missions on the continent.
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