Mugabe urges UN troops in Congo

Thousands of Congolese have been killed or exiled

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has called for the speedy deployment of United Nations troops to end the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We want peace for the Congo, we want peace for the region, for each and every countr

President Mugabe in Kinshasa

"The UN should deploy observers as soon as possible. This is of utmost importance because without the observers, there is the danger of the situation going back to square one," he said in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.

Mr Mugabe was speaking to reporters on Sunday after a four-hour summit involving President Kabila and his allies about the implementation of the peace deal signed by the warring parties at the weekend.

The summit was also attended by the other two heads of state whose armies are supporting Mr Kabila, Presidents Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola and Sam Nujoma of Namibia.

Mr Mugabe faces opposition at home to his involvement in the Congo

Mr Mugabe stressed that peace in the DR Congo depended on developments in Rwanda and Uganda - the two countries backing Congolese rebels against their government - as well as in Angola.

"We are committed to peace in SADC. We want peace for the Congo, we want peace for the region, for each and every country," Mr Mugabe said.

Military commanders from the four allied nations also took part in some aspects of the talks.

Positive signs

The mini-summit of Mr Kabila and his allies follows Saturday's signing of a new ceasefire agreement in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, by all the parties in the Congo war.

Under the terms of the agreement hammered out by the Joint Military Commission on the Congo, the new complete ceasefire is to come into effect at 0000 GMT on Friday 14 April.

Mr Kabila is backed by Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola

Rival armies are also to disengage and create a 30km-wide (18-mile-wide) buffer zone to allow UN troops to be deployed.

Rebels from the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) have voiced some apprehensions about the new accord but their backers - Rwanda and Uganda - have expressed satisfaction with the new ceasefire deal.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Andre Bumaya said the deal met his country's expectations.

Interim Rwandan President Paul Kagame also said he was in favour of the deployment of UN troops.

Uganda's Minister for Regional Cooperation, Amama Mbabazi - who chaired the ceasefire talks - also expressed hope that it would succeed.

It is the latest attempt to end 20 months of fighting in which it is estimated that tens of thousands of people have been killed.

The UN is expected to deploy 500 military observers and 5,000 troops once a ceasefire is in place.