Bizima Karaha, chief negotiator for one wing of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) said it was urgent that the two main rebel organisations sign.

President Kabila: OAU to discuss DR Congo

"It has to be days. It has to be done very quickly because we want the ceasefire to be signed and to be signed by everybody," he said in an interview with APTN.

On Saturday a ceasefire deal negotiated after several days was signed in Lusaka by DR Congo President Laurent Kabila and five other countries which have been involved in the war.

Chiluba mission

But a dispute over leadership meant that the RCD did not sign - and nor did the other main rebel group, the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) led by Jean-Pierre Bemba.

The RCD wing led by Mr Karaha and Emile Ilunga objected to the presence of Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, who has been ousted from the leadership of the RCD, but still insists he should sign on its behalf.

Mr Karaha told APTN in Johannesburg that Mr Wamba dia Wamba could be included in the political talks to follow the ceasefire.

The Zambian President Frederick Chiluba who mediated the talks, is expected to visit the various rebel groupings when the OAU summit ends on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe troops out

Meanwhile the Zimbabwean Defence Minister, Moven Mahachi, is reported to have said that his country's forces would start withdrawing from DR Congo within the next three months.

Ernest Wamba dia Wamba: Wanted to sign on behalf of RCD

Zimbabwean troops and aircraft have been supporting the government of President Kabila in its battle against rebel forces.

He is also reported to have said that the failure of the rebels to sign a peace deal was not a deterrent to the implementation of the truce.

Tanzania's foreign minister Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete also believes that without the support of their allies who have signed the deal, the rebels will be less effective.

"The rebels can be a nuisance, but they can't stage an effective war," he told Reuters in Dar Es Salaam.

Kabila speaks out

President Kabila, who is attending the OAU summit in Algiers said the signatures of Rwanda and Uganda should be sufficient to end the fighting.

"The rebels' bosses have signed. The rebels are nothing but militiamen created by the invaders of Congo, who of course are Rwanda and Uganda," he told reporters.

The fact that the rebels have still not signed has put in doubt UN plans to send an assessment team to DR Congo this week, which would lay the ground for a subsequent UN peacekeeping operation.

The rebels have gained control of up to 50% of the country since beginning their insurgency against President Laurent Kabila in the east of the country last August.