South African vice President Thabo Mbeki (C) tries to persuade the representative of -Mobutu's...

South African vice President Thabo Mbeki (C) tries to persuade the representative of -Mobutu's government Kamanda Wa Kamanda (L) and rebel negotiator Dr. Bizima Karaha (R) to shake hands at the Union buildings in Pretoria, April 5. Before shaking hands with -Mobutu's envoys Karaha told reporters at the talks: "We asked for these negotiations more than five months ago." Negotiators from Zaire's warring sides met face-to-face on Saturday morning for the first time at the start of the peace talks to try to reach a solution to the six-month civil war in the vast central African country. UN envoy Mohammed Sahnoun (2nd L) and an unidentified man (rear) look on.