U.N. force ferrets out weapons in Congo

BUNIA, Congo -- United Nations troops have begun ferreting out hidden weapons in this volatile town in northeastern Congo, the commander said Wednesday.

Three days after they took over from a French-led force, U.N. troops have seized automatic rifles and "a lot of ammunition" in searches on both houses and men in the street, said Brig. Gen. Jan Isberg, acting commander.

"We really would like to turn Bunia into a weapons-free city," he said. "We will find those weapons."

The French-led force deployed in June with a limited mandate. Its job was to secure the airport, protect displaced people and aid workers in a town where violent clashes between Hema and Lendu factions had killed more than 500 people.

The French restored calm and kept weapons off the streets, but Isberg said there are still small arms and ammunition throughout Bunia, including depots hidden by tribal fighters.

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the rest of Ituri province.

In the latest violence, at least 200 Hema were reportedly killed and 137 abducted for use as laborers and sex slaves in a series of raids by Lendu fighters that destroyed a town northwest of Bunia.

On Thursday, U.N. investigators were to begin a probe into the killings in Fataki, 40 miles northwest of Bunia, said Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo.

The world body will also assess the humanitarian needs of survivors and the security situation in the area, he said.

On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council commended the French-led force for helping to avert a humanitarian tragedy.

The French-led troops "helped to avoid a humanitarian tragedy and was instrumental in stabilizing the situation in Bunia," a council statement said.

Conflict erupted in Congo in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda sent troops into the country to back rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila. Since a 1999 cease-fire, foreign troops have withdrawn from Congo and most fighting has stopped, except in the resource-rich east and northeast.