The move followed suspected incursions by Rwandan troops into the eastern Congo in search of the Hutu rebel fighters that have been accused of staging incursions into Rwanda.

An official said this week that the UN mission in the DR Congo was certain that there had been incursions, but was unable to confirm these had been by Rwandan soldiers.

The defense ministers from eight countries of the Economic Community of Central African States, meeting for the first time, did not specifically mention Rwanda, but called on all countries to respect international agreements on security, stability, peace and democracy in the Great Lakes region.

They urged regional government chiefs to take reciprocal measures to ensure respect for existing frontiers inherited from the colonial era, while giving no indication of what these measures should be.

The ministers announced plans to create a general staff for security in the region, with a chief of staff and five deputies responsible for operations, training, logistics, finance and communications.

The staff would have the task of directing a 2,400-man regional force that the African Union plans to create for fire-fighting missions in central Africa. The ministers agreed that the first exercises of the new force would be held next year in Chad.

The meeting in Brazzaville, the capital of the DRC's neighbor brought together ministers from Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Rwanda and its violence-torn southern neighbor Burundi were not represented.

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