Rebels killed 10 civilians in eastern Congo: UN

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Rwandan Hutu rebels killed 10 civilians in attacks in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo at the weekend, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

It said the rebels, members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), ambushed civilian vehicles in Rutshuru, in Congo's eastern province of North Kivu. U.N. peacekeepers killed three of the attackers.

"There were a number of exchanges of fire with the FDLR, and on Sunday U.N. forces intervened to repel FDLR units that had been identified," said Kevin Kennedy, spokesman for MONUC, the U.N. mission in the central African country.

"We have no exact or confirmed numbers of casualties," he said. However, a U.N.-backed radio station put the civilian death toll at 10.

Congo launched an offensive in January against the FDLR, some of whose members participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The U.N.-backed operation has been criticised for incidents of abuse by members of the Congolese army, and for provoking reprisal attacks by the FDLR against civilians.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed, more than 7,000 women and girls raped, and more than 900,000 people forced to flee their homes since the offensive began.