UN soldiers hit back in Congo

KINSHASA - United Nations peacekeepers have killed up to 60 militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an ambush in which 19 soldiers from Bangladesh were killed and mutilated last week.

The fighting with the Lendu militias took place outside Bunia, and was the deadliest operation in the UN's six-year mission in Congo. Two peacekeepers were wounded and airlifted to South Africa.

The UN sent more than 200 Pakistani soldiers, backed by a helicopter and armoured vehicles, to attack militias belonging to the Lendu Nationalist and Integrationist Front, who have attacked villages of the rival Hema tribe for several years.

UN spokesman Eliane Nabaa said: "The group continues to loot, kill and rape these people ... It's time to put an end to this militia."

Humanitarian groups believe that, since 1999, fighting in the lawless northeastern district of Ituri has killed more than 50,000 people and forced 500,000 to flee their homes.

UN peacekeepers in the Congo have been criticised for years for being ineffective.

The UN head of mission, William Lacy Swing, said this week's battles indicated a harder line.

"We will be more active and more robust in carrying out the protection mandate."

That mission has recently been undermined by a sex scandal, where women and girls from camps in Bunia accused peacekeepers of raping them or trading food for sex. A UN inquiry found that peacekeepers had abused girls as young as 13, destroying the local people's trust in the UN mission.

Now, the UN says it is determined to continue fighting the militias and dismantle their camps hidden deep inside the nearby mountains.

Leaders of the Lendu community accused the UN of seeking revenge for the killing of the Bangladeshi peacekeepers.

One community leader, Batsi Thewi, said at least three women and several children had been attacked.

"Yesterday our people were attacked by armoured cars and from the air. Bombs were dropped on civilian areas. Bodies have been burned inside houses. Buildings have been crushed by armoured cars."

- INDEPENDENT