39 Killed in Clashes in Eastern Congo

KINSHASA, Congo — At least 39 fighters were killed when U.N. and Congolese troops clashed with Ugandan rebels in Congo’s war-torn east over the weekend, a United Nations official said.

Maj. Hans-Jakob Reichen, a U.N. spokesman, said 35 rebels were killed in the operation. An Indian peacekeeper was killed and four compatriots injured, and three Congolese government forces were killed and 16 hurt, he said.

Voters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, approved a new constitution in a referendum last week, paving the way for elections in the first half of 2006. Since the referendum, U.N. and Congolese forces have sought to crack down on militias blamed for undermining the peace process and raping, pillaging and killing civilians in eastern areas.

The latest fighting began Saturday about 20 miles south of Beni in North Kivu province after Ugandan fighters ignored an ultimatum to negotiate voluntary repatriation, Reichen said.

Uganda and neighboring Rwanda backed rebels in Congo’s five-year war, and fighters from both countries still operate in militias across Congo’s east.

On Saturday about 300 Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers and 1,500 government troops backed by helicopter gunships captured Nioka, 50 miles northeast of Bunia, the main town in the unruly Ituri district of northeastern Congo.

Dozens of militia fighters and a number of Congolese troops have been killed since the Dec. 18 vote.