Mbeki meets African leaders in Pretoria

In his latest diplomatic effort to end the year-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South African President Thabo Mbeki at the weekend held a "very fruitful" mammoth 12 hour session of talks with the presidents of Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

A senior South African official told IRIN on Monday the talks which started at midday on Sunday at Mbeki's official residence and lasted until midnight, had been "upbeat and significant" ahead of next week's Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in the Mozambique capital Maputo, where peace in the region will be discussed.

As the presidents prepared to leave after the day of talks, Pretoria announced that it was sending Foreign Minister Nkosazana Zuma to the DRC's third-largest city, Kisangani, for talks with officials there following an outbreak of fighting in the area on Saturday.

Rivalry between separate rebel groups supported by Rwanda and Uganda led to a skirmish in Kisangani in which Ugandan troops clashed on Saturday with Rwandan-backed rebels. On Sunday morning the leaders of the Ugandan and Rwandan forces restored calm. News reports said Commander James Kazini, heading the Ugandan troops who support Ernest Wamba dia Wamba and his rebel faction, and Rwandan Commander Patrick Nyanvumba, whose forces support rival leader, Emile Ilunga, appeared to have ordered both groups to stop firing.

South African officials have been concerned that the split in the rebel ranks would derail implementation of the comprehensive Lusaka peace accord signed on 10 July by Uganda, Rwanda, and DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila, and his allies from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola.

After Kabila visited Mbeki in Pretoria last month, Zuma was sent to Uganda and Rwanda in an effort to persuade the rebel factions to sign the Lusaka accord.

In a statement, the South African foreign ministry described Sunday's summit as "part of a continuing effort" to find a solution to the DRC conflict: "The discussions held in Pretoria were very fruitful and all parties looked forward to making further progress. The four presidents decided the verification process must continue unhindered and expressed the hope that it would be concluded soon."

The South Africa official said Pretoria was "relatively optimistic" despite Saturday's clash and despite the refusal of some rebel leaders to sign the Lusaka accord.