Christian leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have pledged to work towards peace and harmony between neighbours, following an intensification of violence in the east of the country.
Rebel group M23 has claimed control of the eastern city of Goma, although government forces say that they still control the city's airport. The increase in violence has left many concerned about the fate of refugees.
DRC's eastern neighbour, Rwanda, has been accused of supporting M23 in the hope of annexing some of its mineral rich territory. Rwanda in turn has accused DRC of supporting anti-government militias in its territory and of harbouring those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
It is believed that there are around seven million internally displaced people in the DRC, more than any other country in the world. Christian charity World Vision has called on the international community to do more to help child refugees in the country. Since 1998, it is believed that over six million people have been killed in the conflict.
Now, wanting to solve the causes rather than just the symptoms of the conflict, the Church of Christ in Congo has proposed a roadmap foo peace between the various factions. The Church of Christ is an umbrella organisation that represents more than 60 Protestant denominations in the country, as well as the Roman Catholic Church.
Rev Eric Nsenga, General Secretary of the Church of Christ in Congo, and Fr Donatien Nshole, General Secretary of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo issued a joint statement calling for peace: "In this year of Jubilee ... our prophetic mission makes it our duty to exhort people, communities, and the state of our sub-region to fulfill the duty of human beings towards themselves, that of peaceful co-existence and supportive co-existence.
"Every day that passes is one too many! And day after day, time is running out and the dark prospects of a humanitarian catastrophe with incalculable consequences are becoming clearer."
The church plan involves rallying together congregations, politicians and local communities in support of the idea of peaceful coexistence between the different groups and ethnicities of the region.
The proposal also suggests a return to what it describes as traditional African methods of conflict resolution, namely a civilised discussion under the palaver tree, as well as efforts at peaceful consensus building.
"Where have our sociological and spiritual values of Bumuntu gone, which were the ontological foundation of our Africa identity? Why are we no longer able to resolve our problems under the palaver tree as our ancestors knew how to do so, wisely?"
Churches in DRC will also be holding workshops that will look for recommendations that can eventually morph into what the World Council of Churches has called "a national charter for peace and living together".
Today the Kenyan government confirmed that the leaders of both DRC and Rwanda will be attending an emergency conference in the next two days with the hope of bringing the conflict to an end.
