A United Nations peacekeeper from India was killed and four others injured in an attack by suspected Ugandan rebels in Nord-Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, army sources said.
Naib Subedar Ram Kirpal Singh, part of the nine-guard peace-keeping force deployed in Congo, was killed when their camp came under heavy rocket attack on Monday morning, they said.
The peacekeepers responded forcefully, beating back the attackers, the sources said, quoting reports received from United Nations officials. The condition of the four others who were injured in the attack was stable, they added.
"The UN soldiers came under fire as they were occupying positions to seal off the zone south of Beni, in the north of the province," they said.
Since Sunday, 3,500 government troops of the Democratic Republic of Congo and 600 UN soliders have been engaged in joint operations to get the Ugandan rebels out of Congo, which these forces use for a rear base.
The attack on the UN contingent in the early hours was blamed on Allied Democratic Forces rebels opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's regime.
The attack, according to sources, came as India is in the process of deinducting the nine-guards contingent and replacing them with the elite 9 Para Commandos.