The leaders of the warring parties involved in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reiterated their commitment to implementing the Lusaka peace accord.

Heads of state whose troops are fighting in the Congo, and the leaders of two of the rebel factions, met on Wednesday in the Zambian capital where they signed the accord six months ago.

The meeting came days before the United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on whether the proposed 5,000-strong peacekeeping force should be sent to DR Congo.

The expectation in Lusaka is that the force will be approved.

The Lusaka meeting tackled some of the issues of concern to the UN should a peacekeeping force be deployed in the DRC.

A joint statement by the delegates at the end of the meeting said they were ready to give assurances on the security of UN personnel.

They also indicated that they would be willing to agree on a joint command structure shared between the United Nations and a military council made up of all the warring parties.

'No trust'

Sources at the talks said some progress had been made in Lusaka, but questions remain over the intentions of all the sides.

One observer said there was no trust among the parties.

Repeated violations of July's ceasefire have brought the peace accord close to collapse.

Presidents Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, Laurent Kabila of DR Congo, Pasteur Bizimungu of Rwanda, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda are at the talks, together with senior officials from the UN 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.

South Africa is expected to provide the backbone of the future peacekeeping force.

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.