A joint mission of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations has ended its visit to the Central African Republic, vowing "to act and ensure the eradication of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)." The "urgent need to finish LRA" was voiced by the head of the UN Regional Bureau for Central Africa (UNOCA), Abou Moussa, and the AU special envoy on the issue of LRA, Francisco Madeira.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, elections observers from the AU, SADC, ECCAS, COMESA and the ICGLR hailed the successful holding of Monday's presidential and parliamentary elections in DR Congo. The observers called on Congolese political leaders "to continue to show a high sense of responsibility by accepting the outcome of the polls."

The United Nations Security Council should ensure that the UN mission in Congo has adequate and appropriate resources to protect civilians from attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and to avert election-related violence, a coalition of 47 international and Congolese organizations said today.

Eleven heads of state and government are to meet Wednesday in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, at a Great Lakes regional summit to look at the problem of illegal exploitation of natural resources in eastern Congo and the negative consequences this has had for the region.

Four African nations have agreed to form a joint military force to fight Lord's Resistance Army rebels, the African Union says. It says the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Uganda will form a brigade to pursue the militants. The LRA, which originated in Uganda 20 years ago, has recently mounted deadly attacks in all four countries.

An impressive parade of the Congolese Armed Forces, the national police and civilians took place on Wednesday in Kinshasa, on the new Triumphal Boulevard, to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s accession to national and internationally sovereignty.

Officials said the ministers believe that progress is being made toward easing the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and that reconciliation efforts between the government and various rebel groups were on the right track.

South African President Jacob Zuma will, on 30 October 2009, co-chair the SA-DRC Bi- National Summit with his Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterpart, President Joseph Kabila at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria. President Jacob Zuma will be supported by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and 11 other Government Ministers and Senior Officials.

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Mozambican leader Armando Guebuza are to meet late Tuesday for talks on ways to implement the faltering political agreement in Zimbabwe, which gave birth to the coalition government in February. Officials of Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change say he is also seeking meetings with the presidents of Southern Africa Development Community countries Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana, and South Africa.

“There is now a real prospect that the conflicts that have long blighted the eastern Congo can be ended,” Alan Doss, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for DRC and head of the UN peacekeeping force there, told the Security Council.