Addis Ababa – As the two-day African Union Heads of State Summit comes to an end on Friday, all eyes will be on the African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who is expected to outline decisions taken by the 54 countries at the meeting.
Even though the theme of the summit was food security and agriculture, the conflict in the Central African Republic and South Sudan dominated the talks as Africa's leaders engaged in marathon talks until late on Thursday night, exchanging views on how to deal with the crisis.
The conflict in South Sudan has displaced more than 702 000 people across that country and caused another 123 000 to flee to neighbouring countries in over six weeks.
"Our hearts go out to the people of the Central African Republic and South Sudan, who face devastating conflicts in their countries and especially to women and children who've become the victims," Dlamini Zuma said in her opening remarks at the start of the summit on Thursday.
Today, she is expected to tell the continent and the world how the union planned to resolve the conflicts and achieve its mission of making 2014 a year of agriculture and food security.
Another important decision expected to come out of the summit is whether Africa will have a temporary military force that would intervene in crisis situations across the continent.
South Africa is supporting the call for the implementation of the so-called African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC), an instrument that will see African countries sending troops to conflict-torn countries.
President Jacob Zuma is expected to brief South African journalists when the summit ends later today. – SAnews.gov.za
