Libyan leader Moammer Kadhafi Wednesday called on those backing opposing sides in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) civil war to dedicate all their efforts to finding peace.
At the same time, in a summit in Tripoli of leaders whose countries are involved in the war, Kadhafi called on them to "deploy all their efforts to halt a plot being hatched against Africa that targets (the continent's) riches."
He said "all parties should be aware that there are foreign hands exploiting the persistence of conflicts (in DRC and elsewhere in Africa) to gain the riches of the continent."
The vast DRC, the former ZXaire, has since August 1998 been torn by war pitting rebel movements based in the east and north, backed by Rwandan and Ugandan troops, against the government of President Laurent Kabila, which has military support from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia.
The presidents of Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe have joined Kadhafi at the summit, a Libyan official said, while Angola, Congo and Namibia have sent high-ranking delegations.
Also attending is the RDC's oil minister, Pierre-Victor Mpoyo.
After an initial session, which lasted into the pre-dawn hours, the summit was adjourned, to be reconvened later in the day Wednesday.
Despite numerous ceasefire agreements having been reached and various regional summits being held and resolutions passed by the United Nations, the war continues.
Libya, which has already hosted two rounds of talks on the problem, convened the summit to discuss ways to arrange a withdrawal from the conflict of those countries that have intervened, Libyan Minister for African Unity Ali Abdel Salam Triki said Tuesday – TRIPOLI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
