African leaders have promised to bolster a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but insist it will falter without U.N. peacekeepers to supervise a truce among the combatants. After an extraordinary U.N. Security Council debate yesterday, 10 African presidents and foreign ministers hold a series of talks with Secretary-General Kofi Annan today and consult with various U.S. officials and Security Council members. The high-level discussions, expected to continue for several days, are to see how a faltering six-month ceasefire can be implemented, and when or if U.N. troops will be sent to back it. The United States has been the most reluctant council member to approve a force, estimated at between 5,000 and 25,000 troops, until countless violations of the ceasefire stop. At the center of Monday’s council meeting was Congo President Laurent Kabila, who arrived for his first visit to New York with an entourage of 90 people and pledged to cooperate with efforts to end the civil war that involves troops from more than half a dozen nations.