Leaders of Eastern and Southern African regional blocs met for an unprecedented joint summit on Saturday to find a solution to a conflict in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed rebels’ rapid advance since January has fanned fears of a wider war.

Leaders from eastern and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo, where Rwanda-backed rebels are threatening to overthrow the Congolese government.

The regional blocs of southern and eastern Africa will hold a joint summit in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Feb 7-8 to discuss the conflict in eastern Congo, Kenya's President William Ruto said on Monday.

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.