Leaders of eight African countries are meeting in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, for a one-day summit seeking to save the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There has been little progress since last July's ceasefire accord, which has sometimes seemed near to collapse.

But a UN Security Council debate last month has injected a new sense of urgency into efforts to end what United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has called Africa's "first world war".

The Security Council has been meeting in New York and is expected to approve plans for a 5,500 strong peacekeeping force any day - but are seeking assurances from the summit that the fighting will stop.

Presidents Laurent Kabila of the Congo, Pasteur Bizimungu of Rwanda, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique have already been met by their host, Zambian President Frederick Chiluba.

Angola's Eduardo dos Santos, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda are also expected, as are senior officials from the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

No explanation has been given for the absence of South Africa, the region's powerhouse, from the talks. They have spearheaded recent peace efforts in the Congo and are expected to provide the backbone of the future peacekeeping force.

Tough talking

Tough negotiations in Lusaka among the warring parties are expected.

The conflict has drawn in Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia on the Congolese government side, while Rwanda and Uganda back splintered rebel factions.

The war is also felt well beyond Congo itself: Uganda accuses President Kabila's government of backing rebels on its western border, while Uganda has itself been accused of backing Angola's Unita rebels.

The war is also deeply unpopular in Zimbabwe, where it is thought to have contributed to President Mugabe's defeat in last week's constitutional referendum.

Last week, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, warned there could be a resurgence of genocide in central Africa if the war in Congo were not halted.

While the rebels notionally control the eastern third of the country, in reality much of Congo appears outside any control and hunger, disease and violence are rife.

In recent weeks there has been a wave of unrest in the rebel-held towns, apparently prompted by a mixture of economic grievances and resentment of the continued presence of foreign troops.