Women fighters were among the 50 people killed by U.N. troops during a battle with militia in northeastern Congo, a U.N. spokesman said on Saturday, responding to claims that women and children died in the clash. The battle on Tuesday at a militia camp near the main town of Btnia in the lawless Ituri district was the deadliest involving U.N. troops deployed in Congo. It came five days after gunmen killed nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers in the same area. "It seems there were women combatants and some of these were killed during the operation," said Kemal Saiki, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC. He said the United Nations was still investigating reports that about 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the clash. Saiki said up to 500 militia fighters from the Lendu ethnic group were involved in the battle against U.N. forces hunting militiamen suspected of killing civilians.
