11 07 13 Associated Press: UN: Peacekeepers shoot 4 in Congo firefight

About
30 unidentified people assaulted an M23 rebel position early Wednesday five
miles (eight kilometers) from Goma in Congo's
North Kivu province, spokesman Martin
Nesirky said.

The
M23 rebels counter-attacked, and as the assailants retreated they fired shots
at the U.N. peacekeepers' post, Nesirky said.

"In
accordance with their rules of engagement, the peacekeepers fired warning shots
before being forced to engage the attackers. In the firefight that ensued, four
attackers were injured" and captured by the peacekeepers, Nesirky said.

He
says they were treated on the scene and evacuated to a Goma hospital.

The
Congo conflict is a
spillover from the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Hundreds of Hutus who
participated in the mass slaughter escaped into Congo and still fight there.

The
M23 began in 2012 as a mutiny. Hundreds of soldiers, who previously belonged to
another rebel group, deserted the Congolese army, which had agreed to integrate
them into their ranks. The fighters routed government forces and swept past
U.N. peacekeepers last November, briefly occupying Goma, one of eastern Congo's biggest
cities. They withdrew only after the government agreed to negotiate.

Trying to separate multiple armed groups in the
region and protect civilians is the 22,000-strong peacekeeping force MONUSCO.