Chiefs of staff from the Democratic Republic of Congo's government and rebel groups started discussions outside Pretoria Monday to finalise military and security arrangements for the country's upcoming transition.

"They are all here," Haile Menkerios, special advisor to United Nations-appointed mediator Moustapha Niasse told AFP.

Menkerios was referring to commanders of the DRC government forces, the main rebel groups the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) and the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), as well as minor rebel groups and Mai Mai militias.

"They have two items on their agenda. Firstly the integration of the army and secondly the security arrangements during the transition," said Menkerios.

"The security issues comprise the formation of an integrated DRC police force and the formation of a neutral force to safeguard the politicians and institutions before the integrated police force can be deployed.

"The neutral force will deal with both general security in Kinshasa and other key cities and with providing bodyguards for the politicians."

The DRC government, opposition and the rebel forces concluded 11 days of intensive discussions in Pretoria on Thursday with a draft constitution and a memorandum on army and security, meant to operationnalise a power-sharing deal signed in the South African capital last December.

Menkerios said the general would be working on the basis of existing agreements.

"They will have to come up with detailed proposals."

At the opening of the military talks on Monday, at an undisclosed venue near Pretoria, Niasse told the generals they would have until the end of the week to come up with proposals.

"There is a member of the mediation team with them all the time.

Military experts from the United Nations and South Africa are also sitting in on their meetings."

Niasse or his co-mediator South African Provincial Affairs Minister Sydney Mufamadi, were also also available "should any political issues or problems crop up".

"The military proposals will be presented to the mediation and the it will be up to the parties to decide what to do next.

"They could start straight way to implement the generals proposals or they could leave the matter in the hands of the follow-up committee that will start up immediately after the closure of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue (ICD)."

Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the ICD, is due to name a date and venue for the final session of the ICD in the next few weeks.

The DRC war broke out in August 1998, and at its height drew in more than half a dozen African coutries. The conflict has claimed some 2.5-million lives directly or indirectly through disease or starvation - Sapa-AFP