ON BOARD OUTENIQUA, May 14: The Zaire peace talks between President Mobutu Sese Seko and rebel leader Laurent Kabila have been postponed till tomorrow, South African deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said late today.

Pahad made the announcement aboard South African naval ship Outeniqua, anchored in the Congolese port of Point Noire, where the two leaders were due to have met at 1000 GMT today.

``We are still continuing discussions,'' he said. ``I think we can predict it (the meeting) will start tomorrow.''

Pahad said Kabila had raised concerns about his safety and wanted the ship, currently anchored at the Congolese port of Point Noire, in international waters before he would board it.

``We did not expect this as a problem because the President (South Africa's Nelson Mandela) discusssed it last week on several occasions,'' Pahad said.

He said that when the South Africans went to pick up Kabila in the Angolan port of Soyo, they found that the rebel leader was in Cabinda, the oil-rich Angolan enclave bordering the Congo.

Kabila told the South Africans he landed there due to lack of fuel.Meanwhile, curfew was imposed in Zairean capital Kinshasa. Earlier reports said Kabila had already left his headquarters at Lubumbashi to attend the meeting even as his forces continued their advance on Kinshasa.

Reports reaching the capital said rebels, demanding Zairean nationality for ethnic Tutsis, had captured a key bridge over the river Kwango and that government troops had pulled back to Mbankana, 150 kilometres from Kinshasa.

Kinshasa's once bustling streets appeared deserted after curfew was imposed at 8 pm local time yesterday.

It was due to be lifted after 10 hours.

Mandela left Cape Town to mediate the second round of peace talks. Mandela's last effort to mediate on May 4 was plagued by uncertainty over whether the two leaders would show up. Kabila arrived for the meeting two days late, infuriating Mandela and other top international officials who cooled their heels on board the ship.

That meeting ended without agreement on two major issues: the composition of a transitional authority and the role of Mobutu specifically -- how long he will remain in the country and when he will retire as President.

Mandela was accompanied on the four-hour flight to Congo by United Nations and Organization of African Unity special envoy Mohamed Sahnoun.

Mandela was also due to meet Congolese President Pascallissouba, an ally of Mobutu, who is opposed to a military solution to the conflict in Zaire, the South African Press Association reported.

Deputy President Thabo Mbeki has spent the last weeks shuttling around Central Africa, visiting leaders of neighboring countries and the warring Zairian parties.

Mbeki, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad and Defence Minister Joe Modise arrived on board the Outeniqua yesterday night.

Strict security measures were in place with reporters restricted to the ship's deck and a South African crack defence force team flown in from Pretoria to check those on board.

With the rebel alliance set to enter Zaire's capital Kinshasa, South African mediators have labeled the second meeting between the two foes as a ``last chance'' for a peaceful political settlement.

A South African official on board the ship who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Mandela wants to get the talks over.Meanwhile, France has accused Kabila's troops of slaughtering Rwandan Hutu refugees after capturing the eastern town of Mbandaka, 600 kilometres from Kinshasa.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.