Uganda has begun to pull its troops out of the Democratic Republic of Congo after a mission targeting rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan military spokesman said Monday.

"We have left DR Congo after successfully completing our mission," Major Felix Kulayigye told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, adding that around 130 soldiers returned to Uganda on Sunday.

It will take eight days to fully complete the withdrawal, Kulayigye said.

A French aid worker was raped an robbed by several armed men in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Le Parisian newspaper said in its internet edition on Friday.

The men, who wore uniforms, robbed a group of aid workers, among them three women. The two other women were also victims of sexual aggression, the paper said.

It remained unclear whether the culprits were members of a rebel militia or soldiers of the Congolese army. The non-governmental organization the victim worked for was not named.

Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has been arrested in Rwanda after attempting to stand against a joint Rwandan-Congolese military operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the operation's co

Congolese physician Denis Mukwege has been named winner of the 2008 Olof Palme Prize for his "work for peace and human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo."

Confusion reigned Tuesday over who was in charge of the main rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo after reports that General Laurent Nkunda had been ousted were denied.

Ugandan rebels the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), currently facing a regional military offensive in the north- east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killed 43 civilians and abducted others in deadl

The Ugandan military Monday claimed success in an ongoing multinational offensive against Ugandan rebels inside the Democratic Republic of Congo, but said efforts were still underway to rescue 17,000

UN-brokered peace talks between Congolese rebels and the government aimed at cementing a lasting ceasefire have been suspended and will resume on December 17, the UN's special peace envoy to the Democ