Rwandan, Congolese troops clash after soldier seized

Rwandan rebels have long skirmished with troops from Democratic Republic of Congo, but it is rare for soldiers from the two armies to clash directly outside of occasional accusations of shelling.

Rwanda officially withdrew troops from eastern Congo from a previous war a decade ago.

"Elements from the Rwandan army crossed the border not far from Kibumba around 3:30 a.m. and took a Congolese corporal, which provoked a reaction from our soldiers there who opened fire," Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende said.

The gunfire eased off after the exchanges in the early hours, but resumed again later in the day.

"The Rwandan army attacked our positions at the border with heavy artillery," governor for the North Kivu province Julien Paluku told Reuters.

"They are advancing on our positions, naturally we have responded but we don't want it to escalate into a conflict between the two countries," he added.

It was not immediately clear whether Rwandan troops were on Congolese territory. Rwandan government officials were not immediately available for comment.

Renewed tensions between the two neighbours may undermine international efforts to bring stability to Congo's mineral-rich, lawless east and the wider region after years of conflict.

The two countries have fought two wars in two decades in eastern Congo. Violence has often been prompted by Rwandan interventions in Congolese territory, which it says are required to hunt down Hutu militia that fled Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

The eastern province of North Kivu is where Congo's army, backed by U.N. peacekeepers, defeated the Tutsi-led M23 rebellion last year. Rwanda denied allegations by Congo and United Nations officials that it had backed the rebellion.

Numerous rebel groups still operate in the eastern provinces and the Congolese government has vowed to target them. General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, commander of U.N. peacekeepers in Congo, told a news conference on Wednesday fighting had taken place and said the United Nations would investigate the clash.

A Reuters reporter said that several Rwandan army helicopters were circling above the Kigali airport on Wednesday, although it was not clear if they were linked to the operation.

(Reporting by Pete Jones in Kinshasa and Kenny Katombe in Goma; Writing by Bate Felix and Emma Farge; Editing by xxx)