President Laurent Kabila made an unexpected appearance at the Non-Aligned summit in South Africa yesterday as rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo said they were heading south into his tribal stronghold.
His attendance at the 113-state summit in Durban alongside his military allies Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia raised the prospect of all parties in the month-old rebellion finally getting around the table and talking.
Mr Kabila, who ousted the veteran dictator, Mobuto Sese Seko, in May last year after a seven-month bush war backed by Uganda and Rwanda, accuses his former allies of fomenting the rebellion.
Both countries, whose presidents are also at the Durban meeting, deny the charges. But both have troops stationed in the east of the former Zaire and both warn they might become involved to protect their national security.
Previous attempts to convene peace talks have ended in acrimony, with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe accusing the South African President, Mr Nelson Mandela, of siding with the rebels.
Mr Mandela is hosting the summit, but the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, backed by a Security Council resolution, is also trying to get peace talks started.