Peacekeepers wounded in Congo ambush

KINSHASA - Seven United Nations peacekeepers from Bangladesh were wounded when a militia group ambushed their convoy on Thursday in the Ituri district of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The attack happened in a lawless region where the world body has taken a more aggressive stance against militia fighters since nine peacekeepers were killed there in February. However, much of the district is still ruled by warlords.

"There were around 40 blue helmets (peacekeepers) from Bangladesh on board two armoured personnel carriers and four jeeps," UN spokeswoman Rachel Eklou said from the regional capital, Bunia.

"When the ambush started one of the jeeps turned over. Seven soldiers were injured, one seriously by bullets," she said.

UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe told a briefing in New York that three of the soldiers were hit by gunfire and would be evacuated to South Africa. All 40 peacekeepers in the convoy were flown by helicopter to Bunia.

Ethnic militias have killed more than 60,000 civilians in Ituri since 1999 -- the year the current UN force, known by its French acronym MONUC, was established in Congo.

The FRPI militia, one of five ethnic armed groups in Ituri, was thought to have carried out the attack, Eklou said.

- REUTERS