Eight UN peacekeepers die in gun battle with Ugandan rebels

EIGHT Guatemalan special forces soldiers deployed as UN peacekeepers in Eastern Congo were killed and five more were injured yesterday during an operation against Ugandan rebels, the United Nations said.

The UN peacekeeping force in Congo, known as MONUC, said that for the past 10 days 80 Guatemalan soldiers had been carrying out reconnaissance operations in Congo’s Garamba National Park, on the border with Sudan, looking for members of neighbouring Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

“The unit which was conducting an operation in this area established contact with rebel elements at 6am. There followed an exchange of fire lasting four hours, requiring the intervention of armed helicopters,” the UN statement said. Officials said at least 15 LRA fighters were killed.