Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was due to meet his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi in Tanzania on Saturday as regional leaders convene in a bid to defuse the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has rapidly seized swathes of territory in the mineral-rich eastern DRC in an offensive that has left thousands dead and displaced vast numbers.

Leaders from eastern and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are threatening to overthrow the Congolese government

Leaders from Eastern and Southern African regional blocs gather in Tanzania on Saturday to seek a solution to the conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels have seized a major city in the worst escalation of fighting in more than a decade.

Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo urged all parties to hold direct talks, including with Rwanda-backed rebels whose advance has fanned fears of a wider war.

Leaders of Eastern and Southern African regional blocs met for an unprecedented joint summit on Saturday to find a solution to a conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels’ rapid advance since January has fanned fears of a wider war.

A summit of leaders from east and southern Africa urged warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo to cease fire and hold meaningful talks to end the violence.

Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African regional blocs stressed on Saturday the urgency of finding a way out of the crisis in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels' rapid advance has fanned fears of a wider war.