Officials in South Africa say talks aimed at ending the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been suspended until Wednesday to sort out problems of representation by opposition parties.

Ketumile Masire, a former president of Botswana and facilitator at the talks, says negotiations are being held to resolve the dispute over delegates who are representing opposition political parties. Rebel leaders say many of these delegates are actually government supporters passing themselves off as opposition figures.

The suspension was announced hours after Congolese President Joseph Kabila held private talks with the two main rebel leaders late on Monday in Sun City, South Africa, the site of the peace negotiations. Officials say the talks were cordial, but gave no further details.

More than 300 delegates from all sides involved in Congo's complex civil war are gathering for 45 days to try to find a workable transition to peace and democracy after years of hostilities.

Congo's civil war erupted in 1998 when rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda tried to topple the government in Kinshasa. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe sent troops to back the government. The war has claimed an estimated two million lives.

The rebel leader of the Congolese Liberation Movement, Jean-Pierre Bemba, originally threatened to boycott the talks entirely based on his doubt of the legitimacy of some delegates. However, he is in South Africa and is involved in discussions, even though he stayed away from the opening ceremony on Monday.

Some information for this report provided by AFP, Reuters.

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