Ceasefire agreement “expected”

The presidents of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa were among the African leaders attending talks on the DRC conflict in South Africa on Thursday, news agencies said. The meeting was chaired by SADC-appointed DRC mediator President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia. The DRC was represented by Presidential Affairs Minister Victor Pierre Mpoyo. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on Wednesday that the UN Special Envoy for the DRC Peace Process, Moustapha Niasse, was also attending the Pretoria talks, ahead of a DRC summit scheduled for 25 June in the Zambian capital Lusaka “during which it is expected a ceasefire agreement will be signed.” Meanwhile, Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu held talks in Pretoria with former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, while Congolese rebel leader Emile Ilunga had separate consultations with South African officials, Reuters said on Thursday.