Rebels attack village in east Congo, kill 20

KINSHASA, Congo – A government official in eastern Congo says rebels armed with machetes have killed at least 20 people in an attack on a village.

Marcellin Cishambo, the governor of South Kivu province, blamed the attack on Rwandan Hutu rebels, and said the fighters had attacked the community of Kamananga starting around 4 a.m.

He said the army has been sent to the region to pursue the attackers, who also set 21 houses on fire. The Rwandan Hutu militia is led by perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide who fled across the border to Congo.

Cishambo also said that 12 U.N. peacekeeping troops were wounded in an attack in eastern Congo.

A spokesman for Congo's U.N. peacekeeping mission confirmed the attack, but said the attackers could not be identified.