The foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jean-Charles Okoto Lolakombe, has again rejected calls for direct talks with rebels trying to topple the government.

Mr Lolakombe said after seeing his South African counterpart in Pretoria that the rebellion was merely an attack from Rwanda and Uganda.

He demanded that their forces be withdrawn.

The South African foreign minister, Alfred Nzo, said the problem must be addressed by the Congolese themselves.

Relations between Kinshasa and Pretoria have been strained since President Kabila accused South Africa of being sympathetic to the rebels