"It was postponed to another date early in September because (South African Deputy President Jacob) Zuma, the peace process facilitator, was not going to be available this week and we thought it was important that he attends," Ugandan foreign ministry official Julius Onen told journalists here.

A Burundian government spokesman said on Monday that the summit had been postponed but gave no new date.

Onen, whose country chairs a regional grouping that oversees peace efforts in Burundi where more than a decade of civil war has claimed more than 300,000 lives, said he remained optimistic about Burundi's peace process.

"Most of the parties made an undertaking to implement the election timetable and the facilitator will continue to monitor and report to the process chairman, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni," he said.

On Friday, 20 Burundian political parties and former rebel groups signed a power-sharing deal brokered by Zuma, though 10 Tutsi minority parties balked at the agreement and one rebel group is still fighting the government.

Acting Ugandan Foreign Minister Tom Butime said Tuesday he hoped Burundi's election process would move ahead quickly with the enactment of electoral laws and voter registration, to enable election of at least the president and parliament by an October 31 deadline.

Heads of state from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as Burundi, had been invited to attend the summit. African Union, European Union and United Nations officials were also expected to attend.

WAR.WIRE