Former presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia were appointed Monday by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) blocs as facilitators of the regional peace process in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The move follows an extraordinary summit of heads of state from the EAC and SADC held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania earlier this month to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, where the M23 rebels are battling government forces.

“All actors are urged to observe the ceasefire announced by the EAC-SADC summit, and the M23 and all other actors are called upon to cease any other advancements in eastern DRC and to observe and abide by an immediate ceasefire,” the blocs said in a joint statement.

Fighting in eastern Congo has led to the deaths of more than 7,000 people this year, Congo's Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

The rebel group has intensified its territorial control in eastern Congo since December, seizing the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.