ADDIS ABABA - The escalating conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo will dominate an African Union summit opening Saturday, with the DRC president absent after Rwandan-backed forces seized a second major city on his territory.
The 55-nation body meets in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa as Africa faces devastating conflicts in the DRC and Sudan -- as well as US President Donald Trump's cuts to US development aid, which have hit the continent hard.
The African leaders represent around 1.5 billion people in a body long criticised for sluggishness, inefficiency and toothless statements.
With the spectre of a regional conflagration rising in eastern DRC, and international bodies increasingly sounding the alarm, the AU has been criticised for its timid approach and observers have demanded more decisive action.
East and southern African leaders on February 8 called for an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire within five days, but fresh fighting erupted on Tuesday.
Outgoing AU chair Moussa Faki Mahamat told AFP on Friday that "the ceasefire must be observed", adding there was a "general mobilisation" among African nations to stop the clashes.
A meeting of the AU's Peace and Security Council dedicated to the conflict ran late into the night on Friday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to address the full summit on Saturday.
Neither Rwandan President Paul Kagame nor his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi attended Friday's meeting.