SOUTH AFRICA made efforts yesterday to shepherd Zaire's warring parties towards peace talks, but sources close to the discussions said progress was slow.
Zaire said its army would not relent in its air offensive against 4 Tutsi led rebels holding towns and territory in the country's eastern provinces.
Zaire says forces from Rwanda Uganda and Burundi invaded its territory in support of the four month old rebellion, which was sparked by Zairean threats to expel ethnic Tutsis who trace their roots in the country back to the 18th century.
"The Zaire armed forces who received orders to fight and recover captured territories and pacify the country have up to today received, no counter orders to stop fighting" the Defence Minister, Mr Likulia Bolongo, said in a statement.
Meanwhile Zaire's ailing President Mobutu arrived at his French Riviera holiday mansion yesterday possibly for treatment following surgery in August of last year for prostate cancer.
He is expected to stay in France for four days and the move was seen as a rejection of the South African overtures towards talks, though there were suggestions he may consult with other African leaders.
US officials in Cape Town confirmed that South Africa was leading proximity talks in a search for peace in Zaire. The Zairean envoy, Mr Ngbanda Nzambo Ko Ayumba, Mr Mobutu's nephew and chief security adviser, said from Cape Town that the South African Deputy President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, was talking to both sides.
Mr Mobutu's return to France coincided with the deadline set by the rebel leader, Mr Laurent Desire Kabila, for Kinshasa to open negotiations or face a guerrilla offensive on the strategic Zaire River city of Kisangani.