Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan (1st R) attends the opening session of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state and government summit in Dar es Salaam,

Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo urged all parties to hold direct talks, including with Rwanda-backed rebels whose advance has fanned fears of a wider war.

The summit called for army chiefs from both communities 'to meet within five days' about immediate and unconditional ceasefire

Their crisis talks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea come as the long-running war escalates.History will judge leaders in Africa who fail to end the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania warned her counterparts at the start of an emergency summit on the weekend.