The political and security situation in the Central African Republic was the focus for Heads of States who attended a mini-summit in the Angolan capital Luanda.

Presidents of Angola, Rwanda, Congo and the Central African Republic took part in this closed-door meeting where they welcomed the recent resolution 2566 of the United Nations Security Council that approved an increase of 2,750 military personnel to reinforce the existing contingent in the CAR.

João Lourenço opened his speech by asking attendees for a minute of silence in honor of the president of Chad whose death was announced on Tuesday. The Angolan President also implored the international community to join the efforts for the pacification of the Great Lakes region.

“it is important that from now on all the actors, having at the head the president Archange Touaderá, with the support of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region (ICGLR), the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC), the African Union, work in harmony in the establishment of a clear roadmap, which is framed in the spirit of the United Nations resolutions and guarantees the dialogue and the permanent consultation with the political actors and the civil society, in order to energize the agreement of Khartoum’’, the Angolan president said.

The news of the death of Chad’s President Idriss Déby, initially also invited to join the mini-summit shook participants. Angola’s Foreign Minister Téte António recalled the important role of the president of the Republic of Chad in the pacification of the region.

Téte António said that the president of Chad was a very important actor to stabilize the conflict regions throughout the continent.

Experts say the death of Chadian President Idriss Déby could worsen the unstable situation in the Great Lakes region. Chad is considered to be one of the main actors in the active fight against the rebels in the region, by sending military personnel to pacify conflict zones.