Ugandan army kills Congo rebels

Gen Nkunda signed a peace deal earlier this year

The Ugandan army says it has killed two Congolese rebels who tried to attack a border trading post.

About 20 armed men entered from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and tried to loot a trading center in Kisoro in south-west Uganda.

The army said the men were part of a group headed by dissident General Laurent Nkunda.

Uganda and DR Congo have just signed a deal to jointly fight rebels in their territories and re-mark their border.

There was no immediate confirmation from Congolese authorities or Gen Nkunda, who has been fighting the Congolese army in the restive North Kivu province.

"We have deployed troops on the border and issued a strong warning using broadcast media to all bad elements near our border not to attempt to cross to Uganda," said army spokesman Captain Tabaro Kichoncho.

In January DR Congo signed a peace deal with Gen Nkunda's group and dozens of other militias roaming the mineral-rich east, which is patrolled by part of the United Nation's largest peacekeeping force.

The agreement was aimed at ending fighting that has displaced more than 500,000 people since early 2007, but daily ceasefire violations have pushed the number of refugees up by 75,000 people since it was signed.

Ugandan districts bordering North Kivu have suffered armed incursions since January 2007, and more than a dozen people have been killed.