- Local staffers attacked while on humanitarian mission in province's Rutshuru Territory, charity's spokesman Dieter Wuthrich tells Anadolu

- Tanzania set to host 2-day joint summit of East African Community and Southern African Development Community to discuss situation in Goma

ISTANBUL 

Three more humanitarian workers associated with an international charity organization were killed in the eastern North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as African leaders are set to discuss the deteriorating situation in the region, which borders Rwanda, on Friday.

Swiss Church Aid condemned the attack and announced that it has suspended all activities in North Kivu province.

More than 3,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since M23 rebels attacked Goma, North Kivu's capital.

Dieter Wuthrich, spokesman for Swiss Church Aid, told Anadolu in an emailed statement that three of the organization's local staffers in the province were killed in an attack on Wednesday, while on a humanitarian mission in the Rutshuru Territory of North Kivu.

The aid group said it could not confirm which forces were responsible for the attack, as intermittent fighting continued between M23 rebels and the Congolese military.

Last month, a staff member of Doctors Without Borders was also killed in Goma.

The attack on humanitarian workers occurred as leaders of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are set to discuss the escalation in eastern Congo during a joint summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city.

Top diplomats from the two regional blocs will meet on Friday before their leaders come together for a possible ceasefire discussion on Saturday.

Congolese officials have described the situation in Goma as "catastrophic," with nearly 3,000 people killed and thousands more injured in fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-January.

According to the UN, about 2,900 people were killed during the clashes.

Some 20 peacekeepers, including 14 from South Africa, were also killed in Goma during the armed conflicts.

Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of backing rebels and sending its troops to Goma.

While Kigali has repeatedly denied accusations, it has, however, refused to specifically deny its troops are present in Goma.

M23 has asserted control over Goma but also violated its own ceasefire by seizing Nyabibwe city in South Kivu province.