The BBC's Jane Standley reports from the SADC meeting in Mauritius

Delegates at the meeting, held at the headquarters of the Organisation of African Unity, said the talks broke down over whether the rebels in Congo should be represented.

President Kabila's government says more towns have been recaptured

Among those attending the meeting were ministers from Rwanda and Uganda, who correspondents say are sympathetic to rebels trying to overthrow the country's President, Laurent Kabila.

Delegates from Rwanda and Uganda walked out of the talks early on Saturday.

"You cannot negotiate a cease-fire until you have identified all the belligerents and have invited them to talks," the Rwandan delegate said.

The head of the Congo delegation, Joseph Kabila, the president's son and the Congolese army's chief of staff made very few comments after the failed meeting.

"Everybody who wants peace is disappointed," he said.

Warning from Zimbabwe After the talks broke down, Zimbabwe's Defence Minister, Moven Mahachi, said more troops may be sent by southern African states to support the Kinshasa government against rebels.

The rebels deny that the towns have fallen out of their control

In remarks to the Reuters news agency, Mr Mahachi accused Rwanda and Uganda of stalling peace efforts "to prepare for war", but said that efforts to find a peaceful solution would continue.

The Southern African Development Community nations are preparing for an annual summit in Mauritius at which the Congo crisis is expected to figure prominently.

The rebels are now refusing to be bound by an earlier cease-fire called by a regional summit in Zimbabwe after being barred from the meeting.

They now control large areas of eastern Congo, but were forced to retreat in the west of the country after the armies of Zimbabwe, Angola and Nambia intervened on President Kabila's side.

On Friday, the government in Kinhasa announced the recapture of the eastern town of Lubutu on the highway between the rebel-held city of Kisangani and the town of Bukavu.