France, Oct. 30 -- France and Togo are co-hosting a conference in Paris on Thursday to support peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes region of Africa. A coalition of international NGOs will urge participants to step up their financial response to the "unprecedented humanitarian crisis" in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries.

The conference aims to drum up an international response to the crisis in the eastern DRC and support efforts by Qatar and the United States to mediate in the conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 rebel group, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

Known as the Ministerial Conference in Support of Peace and Prosperity in the Great Lakes Region, the ...