As the continent's annual summit in Addis Ababa kicks off, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged African leaders to take "action for peace" in order to confront escalating violence.

Africa is reeling from a record drought in the Horn and the remnants of colonialism in the Sahel region and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the African Union (AU) meeting aiming to address these issues and jumpstart a faltering free trade pact.

The majority of the proceedings during the two-day summit will take place behind closed doors at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital.

But all eyes will be on the summit to see whether it can broker ceasefires in the Sahel and eastern DRC, where the Rwanda-backed M23 militia has captured vast swaths of territory, sparking a diplomatic spat between Kinshasa and Rwanda's government.

It is worth noting that Human Rights Watch has constantly urged the US, the EU, France, the United Kingdom, and other countries to halt military support to Rwanda so long as it is supplying weapons to the M23.

"I am deeply concerned about the recent rise in violence by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the rise of terrorist groups in the Sahel and elsewhere," Guterres told the gathering.

"The mechanisms for peace are faltering," the UN secretary-general warned. Nevertheless, he urged the bloc to "continue to battle for peace."

Leaders of the seven-nation East African Community asked on all armed groups to evacuate from occupied territories in eastern DRC by the end of next month at a mini-summit on Friday.

On Friday, Guterres met with numerous African leaders, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, to discuss the Congo problem in particular.

"I endorse your call for the restoration of civilian and democratically elected governments in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Sudan," Guterres said.

The African leaders are also scheduled to tackle the food crises hitting the continent, which has been struck hard by the worst drought in four decades, as well as the knock-on consequences of the West's sanctions on Russia, which have raised the cost of essential supplies.

Israeli delegation booted from AU summit

An Israeli delegation that sneaked into the African Union summit on Saturday in Addis Ababa was expelled, sources told Al Mayadeen. 

According to media reports, the African Union Commission revoked an invitation it had previously sent to "Israel" to attend the summit's opening in response to pressure from Algeria and South Africa to bar "Tel Aviv" from participating in any summit-related activities.

The issue of stripping "Israel" of its status as an observer member of the African Union will be at the heart of discussions at the regular African summit, according to Algerian media sources, after it was suspended earlier. The sources added that the Zionist entity is putting pressure on African countries to accept it as an observer member of the African Union, during the upcoming session.

It is worth mentioning that the African Union granted "Israel" observer status in July after a unilateral decision from the former AU chairperson, and the Israeli ambassador in Addis Ababa presented his letter of accreditation as an observer to the African Union.

Beginning in August of last year, the African Union Commission's chairperson was formally challenged by the Republic of Comoros, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Mauritania for accepting Israeli credentials as an observer member of the organization.

A committee made up of seven heads of state, including Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, was established by the African Union last year to study the issue after the organization unanimously decided to postpone its decision to grant "Israel" observer status within the organization.

Kicking out Israeli diplomats from the summit is a publicized defeat for the occupation which has been chasing the 2021 accreditation for nearly two decades.

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