ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe is due to hold informal talks with UN secretary general Kofi Annan at a summit of African leaders in The Gambia this weekend.
South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki is also expected to be involved in discussions aimed at reversing Zimbabwe's political and economic decline, according to diplomatic sources.
South African deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said a meeting between the three leaders was likely at the African Union (AU) summit, which will address a number of security concerns on the continent, including Zimbabwe's implosion under Mr Mugabe and armed conflict in Sudan.
Mr Annan is seeking to visit Zimbabwe later this year to investigate Mr Mugabe's year-old slum-clearance operation that left about 700,000 people homeless or without livelihoods.
The Zimbabwean leader has sent mixed messages on whether Mr Annan will be allowed entry.
A number of other controversial heads of state will attend the weekend summit, including special guests Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.
The leaders' meeting, taking place in the coastal capital city of Banjul, is being seen as a major test of the AU's ability to deal with local security crises. Critics of the organisation say African governments too often look to western countries to sort out their regional problems.
On the eve of the summit, Amnesty International has called on both the Chadian government and the international community to take urgent action to protect civilians caught up in the long-running conflict in Darfur, Sudan.
In a report published today, the human rights group said Chad had "virtually abdicated responsibility for protecting its own citizens along the border with Sudan", leaving them vulnerable to attacks by Janjaweed militia and exploitation from Sudanese armed groups present in eastern Chad.
Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty, said: "The Janjaweed are targeting virtually defenceless communities - unhindered by the governments of either Sudan or Chad.
"The AU summit meeting this week needs to send a clear signal to Sudan that it cannot continue to block the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation without consequences. The AU should establish a clear programme of action to pressure the Sudanese government, which could include sanctions as well as suspending the decision to allow Sudan to take the AU chairmanship in 2007."
The UN Security Council has yet to decide whether to deploy a peacekeeping mission to Darfur, a region which will be visited by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern next week.
Ms Khan said council members should show "greater resolve to pressure the Sudanese government to accept a peacekeeping operation. The civilians in eastern Chad are in desperate need of protection and should not be held hostage to the pace of negotiations with Khartoum."