Leaders work to end conflicts in Great Lakes region
Congolese soldiers patrol in Rutshuru, North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on November 4, 2013. Great Lakes region's leaders have committed to the African Union goal of ending armed conflicts, especially in DRC, by 2020. PHOTO | AFP
A wave of insecurity and political unrest hit the Great Lakes region early in 2016: South Sudan had plunged into yet another war, Burundi was cracking down on dissidents following a botched coup, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic were also in turmoil.
The wars in these countries forced an influx of refugees into Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Uganda hosts more than one million refugees from South Sudan and another 300,000 from DR Congo.
