On the eve of the first anniversary of a pact aimed at bringing much-needed stability to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) international backers say they are disappointed by the lack of concrete progress made in the country.

The international group monitoring the transition process said in a statement here that there was still much to be done if the objective of general elections planned for June 2005 was to be reached.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in a statement on Wednesday he was concerned by the "slowing down of progress" in the country and by the growing influence of factions within the transitional government.

Annan also said he was also worried by reports of attacks against civilians and the re-establishment of armed groups in the east of the country.

DRC is tentatively emerging from five years of war which sucked in at least six other African states and became known as "Africa's world war." About 2.5 million people died, either directly in combat or through disease and hunger as a result of the upheaval.

The International Committee Accompanying the Transition (CIAT) said in a statement that despite the end of the war people in the east of this vast country continued to live in fear, harried by Congolese and foreign armed groups.

The country had not been able to start functioning again on a political, economic and administrative level due to delays in restoring the state's authority over the whole of the country and in reorganising the military, the statement said.

CIAT, which is made up of 11 countries and the UN mission in DRC (MONUC), said ordinary people were still waiting for the first tangible benefits of the peace deal 12 months on.

"The growing frustration felt by civil servants, the as yet unfulfilled needs of the Congolese people in terms of education and health, as well as the huge difficulties faced by the commercial sector in re-starting economic activity call for courageous and rapid decisions," the statement added.

"In the past several months it appears that mistrust has gained a grip at the heart of institutions and between the various components and entities at the highest levels of the state, and that a general climate of intolerance has settled across the country," CIAT said.

Annan said in his report on the country: "Peace is not irreversible.

"While progress has been made, the next few months will be critical," he said.

CIAT said it wanted the signatories to last year's pact to use this first anniversary to respect their commitments and to relaunch the process by getting to grips with problems that require an immediate solution.

The nomination of governors and deputy governors to the country's provinces was one example, it said. Another was the appointment of head of the new military and of the police force.

"Even though the initial vital steps have been successfully negotiated the principal objectives of the transition are still far from being reached just 15 months ahead of the elections," the group said.

However, the group said it was pleased that the process had at least begun and that those involved seemed determined to see it through.

Even after an attack by armed assailants on four key military installations in Kinshasa last weekend, the transition government vowed the country's fledgling democracy would not be derailed.

The "unfortunate events of the weekend" were "isolated incidents" and would "in no way stop the process that is under way," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

DRC's transition "is irreversible and will continue until it achieves its goal of holding elections", the foreign ministry statement said.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged all parties in the country to encourage democracy to take root.

"We need to move from the political commitment to action on the ground," the head of UN peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno said - Sapa.