The joint SADC-East African Community summit has resolved to merge the structures of the two blocs and the African Union in an effort to find a lasting solution to the security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The summit was convened together with the Panel of Facilitators for the DRC Peace, co-chaired by SADC Chair Emmerson Mnangagwa and EAC Chair William Ruto, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The structures, once combined, would comprise an AU mediator and a panel of facilitators from both SADC and EAC who would be required to report to the joint summit and the African Union.

The technical secretariats of the African Union Commission, SADC, and EAC have also been urged to merge into a joint secretariat.

The Joint Secretariat is expected to be led by the Addis Ababa-headquartered African Union Commission, tasked to operationalise it.

Other resolutions taken are that the African Union Commission convey to other bodies the ongoing initiatives in a bid to align them to the African-led process and centralised resource mobilisation and humanitarian support.

The joint SADC-East African Community summit convened as insecurity continues to escalate in eastern DRC.

Last week, 38 people were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamist rebels, and violent confrontations between government forces and armed militia such as M23 were reported in eastern provinces.