UN observers due in Congo

The first contingent of a United Nations observer mission is expected to arrive later today in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The soldiers are to deploy later in the east of the country in Kalemie along the shores of Lake Tanganyika.

Their mission is to verify that all parties in the Congolese civil war have pulled back from the front line, in accordance with the Lusaka peace agreement.

Under the agreement, the troops should disengage before the UN could deploy peace keepers.

A deadline for the disengagement has passed by midnight yesterday on Wednesday.

Earlier, the head of the UN peace-keeping mission in the Congo Moutrag Diallo expressed doubts that the withdrawal of opposing forces from front-line positions would be completed by the deadline. Government troops backed by Zimbabwe, Angola, and Namibia have been battling to put down an armed insurgency backed by Rwandana and Ugandan troops.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service