DR Congo former military men arrested in South Africa

The South African authorities have arrested three top generals from the former Zairean army, including a former defence minister Mavua Mudima.

The others are Baramoto Kpama, head of former President Mobutu's Civil Guard; and Nzimbi Nzale, head of the army's presidential division.

They were due to appear before magistrates later in the day.

A foreign ministry official Marco Boni said they were detained as they arrived back at a private airfield outside Pretoria over the weekend, apparently because of immigration irregularities.

The authorities in Kinshasa are seeking to extradite the three men on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and assassinate President Kabila.

The South African official said the government was taking the allegations seriously.

He recalled that earlier this year President Mandela had promised President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo that South Africa would investigate the activities of senior military officials of the former government.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service