Uganda troops clash with rebels
2007-11-13 17:16
Kampala - Ugandan troops clashed with four Congolese rebels loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda, killing one of them in a shootout after they crossed into Ugandan territory, Uganda's military said on Tuesday.
The army spokesperson for western Uganda, Tabaro Kiconco, said a battle broke out on Monday in the volcanic district of Kisoro, bordering Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"A group of armed thugs from Nkunda's group crossed the border, but our troops intercepted them and closed in for
arrest," said Kiconco, adding that "they resisted and fired several shots, so we fired back".
Thousands have fled camps
The army had killed one of the men in the exchange, but suffered no casualties itself.
Three were wearing military uniforms, but one - the one
they killed - was in plain clothes, he said. He rejected the
possibility the man was a civilian, saying he had been armed.
Thousands of refugees have fled camps in eastern Congo's
violent North Kivu province, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, fearing reprisals after Congo's army said Nkunda's Tutsi-dominated rebels attacked its positions nearby.
More than 370 000 people have fled fighting between a confusing hotchpotch of Congolese soldiers, Nkunda's insurgents, Rwandan Hutu rebels and Mai Mai militia since January.
Many thousands have crossed the border into Kisoro.
Abandoned a peace deal
"We are warning these armed groups not to cross into
Uganda," Kiconco said. He added that army intelligence showed it was only Nkunda's group operating in the area.
Nkunda has waged an insurgency against the Congolese army
since August, when he abandoned a January peace deal.
Neighbours suspect Rwanda of backing him.
Uganda has twice joined Rwanda to invade Congo, officially
to stop rebels using the mineral-rich country as a base for
attacks over the border.