An emergency summit of heads of state and senior officials from the Great Lakes region was held in Entebbe, Uganda, on Sunday, December 22, 2025, to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The meeting was convened to seek a lasting solution to persistent insecurity in eastern DRC. It took place at State House Entebbe and was chaired by Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, bringing together high-level representatives in diplomacy and security.
Sources from Entebbe indicated that no formal resolutions were adopted, after the DRC delegation proposed the inclusion of measures condemning Rwanda, an approach that was rejected by other participants at the meeting.
Rwanda was represented by the Minister of Internal Security, Dr Vincent Biruta, while the DRC delegation was led by the Minister for Regional Integration, Floribert Anzuluni.
President Museveni welcomed the discussions, stressing that participating countries demonstrated strong political will to cooperate in pursuit of sustainable peace and security in the region.
The summit was held amid heightened tensions in South Kivu Province, particularly following the announcement by the AFC/M23 group that it had withdrawn from the town of Uvira, near the Burundi border.
The governments of the DRC and Burundi have accused AFC/M23 and Rwanda of destabilising the area—allegations that Rwanda has consistently denied.
Uganda, which has troops deployed in eastern Congo under Operation Shujaa, launched in November 2021, continues to work alongside the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to the Islamic State.
Kampala has also initiated infrastructure projects in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, reinforcing its close monitoring of developments in the region.
Despite the absence of concrete resolutions, the meeting ended with renewed confidence that dialogue, rather than armed confrontation, remains the only viable path to lasting peace in the DRC and the wider region.
