KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo had a meeting for more than an hour with Burundian counterpart at the Palace of the Nation on Tuesday, according to the presidency.

Felix Tshisekedi and Evariste Ndayishimiye later chaired the signing of four memorandums of understanding (MoU).

"Our discussions therefore focused mainly on bilateral subjects but we also discussed subjects of interest to the Great Lakes Region, the East African Community," Ndayishimiye said in a series of tweets.

The MOUs concern the strengthening of peace, trade relations, development of a train line between Kindu-Uvira-Bujumbura-Kitega and political and diplomatic consultations.

"I am therefore happy to be in #Kinshasa and to have witnessed the signing of the agreements that will revitalize trade, social, political and diplomatic exchanges between #Burundi and #RDC,” said Ndayishimiye. “Our friendship and diplomatic ties were already excellent and strong.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo Presidency said last Sunday that the visit is in line with the materialization of the will of the two leaders to strengthen excellent relations of friendship and cooperation that bind the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, as well as the peaceful coexistence between the respective peoples.

By Rodrigue Forku , Anadolu Agency

Photo Courtesy ABC

At least 72 people have been killed in ongoing riots across South Africa, despite the efforts of heavily outnumbered authorities to quell the violent unrest sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma.

The South African Police Service said in a statement Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 27 in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal and to 45 in the economic hub of Gauteng province, with many of the fatalities occurring in "stampedes" as scores of people looted food, liquor, clothes and electrical appliances from shops in poor areas. Other deaths were caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines as well as shootings, according to police. 

At least one police officer was killed in an attack on law enforcement, while seven others were injured while responding to the riots, police said.

So far, 1,234 people have been arrested, according to police, but the chaos has continued. Looters were seen ransacking warehouses and supermarkets in the port city of Durban on Tuesday, while rioters set fire to a chemical plant near the town of Umhlanga, just north of Durban.

The South African Police Service has recalled officers from leave and rest days, while the South African National Defence Forces has deployed thousands soldiers to assist the overstretched law enforcement agencies on the ground.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to "restore calm and order," describing the unrest as the worst the country has witnessed since the 1990s, before the end of the apartheid regime,

"Over the past few days and nights, there have been acts of public violence of a kind rarely seen in the history of our democracy," Ramaphosa said in a televised address to the nation on Monday evening. "Let me be clear: We will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law."

The lawlessness has disrupted South Africa's COVID-19 vaccination program, which Ramaphosa warned will have "lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery." Vaccine shots are urgently needed in the country, which -- along with other nations in Africa -- is fighting a new wave of COVID-19 infections. The South African government recently reimposed and extended tight restrictions, including a nightly nationwide curfew, school closures, a ban gatherings and limits on alcohol sales.

Violence and unrest has gripped parts of South Africa since Zuma turned himself in to police on July 7 to begin his 15-month jail term for contempt of court. South Africa's highest court handed down the sentence after Zuma failed to appear before an inquiry examining corruption during the nine years that he served as president. Zuma has maintained his innocence, saying he is the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt, and his supporters took to the streets last week. But the protests appear to have reawakened deep-seated grievances over persistent poverty, unemployment and inequality, some 27 years after apartheid ended.

Following job layoffs and an economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, South Africa's unemployment rate stands at a record high of 32.6% and is even higher among the youth, at 46.3%, according to official numbers released in June by the national statistical service. Meanwhile, more than half of the country's 60 million people were living in poverty last year, according to data collected by the World Bank Group.

"There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng," Ramaphosa said. "The path of violence, of looting and anarchy, leads only to more violence and devastation. It leads to more poverty, more unemployment, and more loss of innocent life. This is not who we are as a people." ABC News