The alleged leader of a Congolese militia charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for masterminding a savage attack on a village during which 200 people were murdered has been turned over to the International Criminal Court, the court announced today.

UN officials defended peacekeepers who killed up to 60 militiamen in a gunbattle in Congo, saying the international troops were acting in self-defence and protecting civilians who had been terrorised for years.

UN peacekeepers killed as many as 60 militia members in a vicious gun fight in north-eastern Congo, a UN spokesman said today.