Go-between Short Hosts Talks

Clare Short tried to resolve tension between the Ugandan and Rwanda presidents yesterday during a meeting in London between the former military allies.

The session, which was hosted by the international development secretary, coincided with a Human Rights Watch study accusing the Rwandan government of trying to silence opponents ahead of elections. It also reported fighting in east Congo since the withdrawal there of Ugandan troops.

The meeting was the fourth confidence-building session in the past 18 months hosted by Ms Short and attended by the leaders, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda. The two men fell out after their countries invaded Congo in 1998.

Uganda and Rwanda have each received western aid in recent years and been presented as examples of how African countries can move beyond their violent past.

"We are trying to preserve the enormous gains made for the people of Uganda and Rwanda," Ms Short said yesterday.

"This is an intelligent discussion to remind people how much there is to lose if things get out of control."

The Human Rights Watch report alleged that the Rwandan Patriotic Front, led by President Kagame, was tightening its control of the state.

The fighting in east Congo between Lendu and Hema tribes is understood to have been triggered by the sudden departure of 5,000 Ugandan troops from the country under international pressure to ease tension with Rwanda.

Yesterday Ms Short severely criticised the UN force's peacekeeping in Congo, saying it was "unfocused and ineffective". In Bunia, east Congo, fearful residents were reported to have converged on the UN compound as Lendu fighters closed in on the town.