President Laurent Kabila has returned to the Congolese capital Kinshasa after an absence of two weeks. Kabila spoke on state radio Wednesday playing down regional peace talks and vowing to pursue war with Rwandan-backed rebels.

Kabila again urged Congolese to take the war to Rwanda. "We must prepare for a long war which should end where it started," he said.

Defence ministers from seven African nations are due to meet on Thursday in the Ethiopian capital to discuss the conflict.

The conflict in Africa's third largest country erupted on August 2 after Kabila ordered Rwandan soldiers out of the country, the same troops which had helped him oust dictator Mobutu Sese Seko one year earlier.