Kagame meets South African deputy president

In a separate round of diplomacy, South African Deputy President Thabo Mbeki met Rwandan Vice President Paul Kagame in Pretoria on Thursday. A spokesman for Mbeki told IRIN the talks were "in the context of ongoing behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in the DRC". He said South Africa supported the initiatives of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the OAU. The Johannesburg 'Business Day' paper on Thursday commented that Mbeki was taking "centre stage" in a new diplomatic effort for the DRC. It cited diplomatic sources as saying South Africa was under increasing international pressure to take a more active role in seeking an end to the war.