U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a comprehensive peace plan for Africa's Great Lakes region, where millions have died in civil wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
Mr. Annan made the appeal Friday, at the start of a two-day summit in Tanzania aimed at bringing peace and stability to region.
Leaders from about a dozen African states are attending the conference in Dar es Salaam. They are expected to discuss four themes: peace and stability, governance and democracy, economic development and regional integration, and humanitarian and social issues.
Organizers say the two-day summit is a first step toward lasting peace in the Great Lakes, where millions died in the 1990's from war, genocide and turmoil and an estimated three million people remain refugees.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.