By SYLVIE CORBET and JAMEY KEATEN
A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard near a wreath of flowers and a portrait of former South African President Nelson Mandela displayed outside the South African Embassy in Beijing, Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma said Mandela has died at age 95. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama turns from the podium after speaking in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, about the death of Nelson Mandela. Obama says the world has lost an influential, courageous and ‘profoundly good’ man with the death of anti-apartheid icon Mandela. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Obit Mandela NYC
An artist who goes by the name “Franco the Great” stands in front of a mural of South African leader Nelson Mandela that he painted in 1995, and later added U.S. President Barack Obama, on 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of New York, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013. Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 95. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Britain Mandela
Floral tributes, a framed photograph and candles are laid in memory of former South African president Nelson Mandela beside his statue in Parliament Square, London, Friday, Dec. 6, 2013. Mandela passed away Thursday night after a long illness. He was 95. As word of Mandela’s death spread, current and former presidents, athletes and entertainers, and people around the world spoke about the life and legacy of the former South African leader. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela
FILE – In this Saturday, May 29, 2010, file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela, right, shakes hands with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, during a reunion with The Elders, three years after he launched the group, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mandela died Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, after a long illness. He was 95. (AP Photo/Jeff Moore, Pool, File)
Obit Nelson Mandela
FILE – In this Oct. 26, 2005 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela, left, walks with the Rev. Jesse Jackson after their meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma says, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, that Mandela has died. He was 95. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Barack Obama
President Barack Obama turns from the podium after speaking in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, about the death of Nelson Mandela. Obama says the world has lost an influential, courageous and ‘profoundly good’ man with the death of anti-apartheid icon Mandela. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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African leaders meeting in Paris for a summit Friday are holding a moment of silence to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela, a leader who inspired many of them.
Mandela died Thursday, just as leaders from nearly every country in Africa were gathering for a summit on how Africans could take a more active role in bringing peace and security to the troubled continent. It was a cause that was dear to Mandela, who was often involved in brokering peace deals in African conflicts.
“He is comparable to a great baobab — this invincible tree under which everyone shelters,” said Guinee President Alpha Conde. “And when this baobab falls, we find ourselves exposed.”
