UN: We killed 60 rebels

2005-03-02 12:21

Kinshasa - United Nations peacekeepers in northeastern Congo have killed as many as 60 militia members in a vicious gun fight, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The firefight took place on Tuesday 30km north of Bunia, the capital of the violent Ituri province, where nine peacekeepers were murdered on February 25 by militia in a well-executed ambush.

"While on operation we were fired upon, so we immediately responded," said Colonel Dominique Demange, spokesperson for the UN forces in Congo.

Demange said the United Nations used an attack helicopter in the operation against the militia. He said between 50 and 60 militia had been confirmed dead.

He said more details would be available later in the day.

Since 1999, fighting in the northeastern district of Ituri has killed more than 50 000 and forced 500 000 to flee their homes, UN officials and human rights groups say.

The Ituri conflict was a bloody sideshow to Congo's five-year, six-nation war that ended in 2002 with the formation of a transitional government, which has struggled to extend its authority to the long-ungoverned east.

- AP