Congo factions urged to make peace

The talks were delayed amid scuffles

The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, has urged warring factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo to set aside their differences.

"We Africans have to show the world our capacity to solve our problems by peaceful means," he said in his opening address at peace talks in South Africa.

Thabo Mbeki says a peace deal is crucial for the whole continent

Members of the Congolese Government, political parties, rebel groups and other leaders are meeting in the resort of Sun City to try to agree on a transitional government that will oversee elections.

Congolese President Joseph Kabila is taking part but one of the main rebel leaders, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has so far refused to attend.

The talks are aimed at ending more than three years of civil war in Congo.

In the opening ceremony, African leaders implored the Congolese to make peace so that their country could, in President Mbeki's words, become an African giant.

Empty seat

But the ceremony was delayed by several hours because of disputes over who should attend.

Many exiles tried to enter the auditorium and scuffles broke out with police.

Up until the last minute, it was not clear whether President Kabila and others would attend.

Mr Kabila eventually took his seat, but Mr Bemba's place was conspicuously empty.

Mr Bemba's Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) controls one-third of the country.

No official reason was given for his absence, but Mr Bemba - who is in South Africa - has complained that the opposition is not properly represented at the talks.

A senior official of the EU, which is helping to fund the talks, said there was growing impatience with the Congolese factions and their inability to reach agreement.

Ceasefire broken

The BBC's Southern Africa correspondent, Barnaby Phillips, says that even if progress is made in Sun City, it will not bring peace to the Congo.

Angola, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Rwanda are all deeply involved in the Congolese war and none of them shows any immediate inclination to withdraw their troops.

War broke out in Congo in August 1998 when rebels backed by troops from Rwanda and Uganda tried to overthrow the late President Laurent Kabila.

President Kabila has urged all sides to act responsibly

Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia stepped in to support the government.

A ceasefire signed by all sides in 1999 was repeatedly broken but the peace process restarted after Mr Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son, Joseph.

In the proposed peace deal, Congo's warring factions agreed to take part in talks that would include the formation of a transitional government and elections.

Foreign troops should have been withdrawn by the time the talks began, but only Namibia has complied and fighting has continued.

Congo challenge

Mr Mbeki said the talks were crucial for the stability of Congo and the whole of Africa.

"The dialogue is about the future of our continent," he said.

Bemba feels the talks are a waste of time

"It answers the question of whether we as Africans have the will and the capacity to pull our continent and our people out of misery, indignity, poverty and underdevelopment."

In a written message to representatives, Mr Kabila said Congo was facing "the most decisive challenge in its history" and urged all sides to be responsible.

An estimated two million people have died as a result of the war, many of them from hunger and disease.

Another two million people have been displaced.

In another development, Mr Kabila has announced a shake-up in the armed forces.

The chief of staff and 18 other senior officers have been retired, and the head of the army has been reportedly arrested.

The United Nations mission in Congo is also entering a new stage.

The first of 400 peacekeepers have arrived in the eastern jungle town of Kindu to start disarming militia groups based in the Congolese forests.