Many Congolese think there are too few UN troops

As he drove into Kisangani from the airport, Mr Annan was greeted by demonstrators calling for the immediate demilitarisation of the city.

Mr Annan announced that UN peacekeepers would soon be sent to a camp in Congo, to prepare Rwanda rebels for disarmament and their eventual return home.

The Congo government says it has assembled about 3,000 Rwandan rebels at the camp.

Earlier Mr Annan welcomed the announced withdrawal of Namibian troops from the country.

Mr Annan held talks on Sunday with President Joseph Kabila, as part of a three-day trip aimed at giving peace efforts fresh impetus.

If the Congolese work together, I believe that it will encourage foreigners to leave the country

Kofi Annan

Speaking in the capital, Kinshasa, Mr Annan said he was encouraged by recent moves to find an end to the three-year Congolese war.

He also had positive words to say about talks held just over a week ago by DR Congo's warring factions and urged them to build on the trust and mutual respect he said they had shown.

Civil war

"If the Congolese work together, I believe that it will encourage foreigners to leave the country," Mr Annan said.

Three years of fighting have left much of DR Congo in ruins

The Namibian contingent is the smallest of the five foreign armies involved in the Congolese conflict.

The Namibians entered the civil war on the side of the DR Congo Government, together with troops from Angola and Zimbabwe.

Support for the rebels in the three-year old struggle, which is blamed for more than two million deaths, has come from the Rwandans and Ugandans.

Attempts to broker a peace deal have gathered pace since the assassination of Laurent Kabila in January of this year, and the arrival of his son Joseph to power.

A seven-month old ceasefire brokered by the UN has largely been respected.

After going to Kisangani, Mr Annan is scheduled to visit Rwanda for talks with President Paul Kagame.