U.N. peacekeepers, Tutsi rebels clash in east Congo

By Joe Bavier

KINSHASA (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers trying to enforce a ceasefire signed last month have clashed with Tutsi rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations said on Saturday.

One rebel was wounded in the incident on Friday and several were arrested by the South African peacekeepers, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo (MONUC) said.

Congo's government, Tutsi insurgents loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda and Mai Mai militia signed a ceasefire on January 23 aimed at ending more than a decade of violence in eastern North and South Kivu provinces.

The peacekeepers were investigating a shooting in the town of Tongo, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma, when they came across a group of Nkunda fighters escorting a prisoner.

"Not only did they not stop, but they opened fire on the blue helmets, who returned fire. It was self-defense and within the rules of engagement," MONUC spokesman Kemal Saiki said.

A U.N. patrol later found two bodies, one of them of a small boy, apparently the victims of an earlier shooting by Nkunda's rebels, Saiki said.

Nkunda's military spokesman Seraphin Mirindi told U.N.-sponsored Radio Okapi the rebels regretted the clash with the U.N. troops. They denied killing any civilians in Tongo.

The overall ceasefire appears to be holding, Saiki said. Since it was signed there have been frequent clashes between Nkunda's rebels and the Mai Mai militia PARECO faction.