The Sadc Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in South Africa on Sunday to discuss the current political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The extraordinary Sadc summit, to be chaired by South African president and chairperson of the Sadc, Kgalema Motlanthe, will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 9am, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Wednesday.

"The agenda of the Extraordinary Summit will be a discussion of the current political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as reports of the ongoing facilitation efforts in Zimbabwe."

Clashes between rebels and pro-government militia have been going on for weeks in the DRC, displacing tens of thousands of people.

The International Red Cross on Wednesday said it had started distributing 365 tons of food to the displaced people around Kibati, just north of Goma, which is surrounded by rebel forces.

This weekend's summit will be concluded by Dlamini-Zuma herself.

Sapa