Earlier this month, African heads of state gathered in Addis Ababa to elect a new African Union Commission Chairman to replace outgoing two-term chair Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad. Replacing him is Djibouti Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Youssouf, the longest serving foreign minister in Africa. Youssouf immediately faces a conflict between M23 rebels and the DRC army that could trigger a wider, regional conflict. VOA’s Esther Githui-Ewart spoke to Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, on how Youssouf’s election may prove pivotal in solving one of the continent’s biggest cross-border conflicts.