Congo says kills Rwandan Hutu rebels, awaits Nkunda

By John Kanyunyu and Joe Bavier

GOMA, Congo Jan 24 (Reuters) - A Congolese-Rwandan force has killed nine Rwandan Hutu rebels in Congo over the last two days, Congo said on Saturday, in a further sign of cooperation between the two former foes.

Yet Kinshasa also said Rwanda had not responded to its calls to extradite Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, whose arrest in Rwanda was seen as part of the agreement that allowed Kigali, a former occupying force, to send troops back to Congo.

The fighting is the first reported clash the joint force has had with the Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels since Kinshasa let in more than 3,500 Rwandan soldiers this week to hunt for the rebels, some of whom took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

General John Numbi, the Congolese commander of eastern operations, reported fighting with the FDLR in five villages on Friday and Saturday. "On the side of the FDLR, nine elements were killed," he said in a statement on Saturday.

One Congolese soldier had been wounded, Numbi said.

Nkunda rejected peace deals that ended Congo's 1998-2003 war, which killed five million people and saw Rwanda back anti-Kinshasa rebels, leading a five year rebellion instead.

The United States said his arrest on Thursday in Rwanda was a "step on the road to peace" but it has been met with both relief and doubts amongst Congolese civilians.

Nkunda and his fighters are accused of mass killings, rapes and the recruitment of child soldiers. International Criminal Court prosecutors have a war crimes arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda, Nkunda's deputy who led a split with Nkunda.