President Mandela of South Africa and President Nujoma of Namibia have ended talks about the uprising in the Democratic Republic of Congo without obvious progress.

At a joint news conference in Namibia held after two days of inconclusive peace talks in Zambia, Mr Nujoma said Namibia would withdraw its troops from Congo only when the government no longer needed their help.

A correspondent for the BBC in Windhoek said Mr Mandela, who wants a diplomatic solution to the conflict, looked disappointed.

President Mandela has already met the leaders of Uganda and Rwanda -- the countries accused of backing the rebels -- and is due to meet the Congolese rebel leader, Wamba dia Wamba, in South Africa tomorrow.