Rebel Negotiators Balk at Cease-Fire

Talks aimed at halting a civil war in Congo that has drawn in surrounding nations ended with rebels refusing to endorse a cease-fire. Congolese President Laurent Kabila did not send a representative and has refused to negotiate directly with the rebels. The talks in Gaborone, Botswana, were aimed at getting the insurgents to adopt a truce that was proposed last month at a meeting of African nations in Lusaka, Zambia. But the rebels demanded changes to the cease-fire plan, repeating their insistence that they be recognized as full participants in peace talks.