UN peacekeepers killed 10 ethnic Lendu militiamen who tried to ambush them today in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile northeastern province of Ituri, the UN said.
Two Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured in the fighting, which highlights the continued unrest in Ituri, where militiamen from the Lendu and Hema ethnic groups have clashed repeatedly.
Fighting between the two groups in the mineral-rich region has killed an estimated 50,000 people since 1999.
The peacekeepers had been on a routine patrol when they were attacked by fighters from the Lendu FNI faction near Kombokabo, 16 miles southwest of Bunia, the capital of Ituri, the U.N. said in a statement.
Nepalese troops and an attack helicopter were sent as reinforcements and the militia group fled after an unknown number of their men were also injured, the UN said.
Almost half of the 10,800 soldiers in Congo's UN force are based in Ituri, but they have been unable to deploy as widely in the region as they had hoped due to continued attacks.
The clashes come days before leaders of all Ituri factions are expected in the capital Kinshasa for talks with the government about their inclusion into the process meant to guide the country to democracy after a war that ended in late 2002.