KINSHASA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - At least three Congolese soldiers were killed and about 20 wounded on Saturday when army troops clashed with forces loyal to a renegade general in eastern Congo, U.N. and army officials said. Major Ajay Dalal, a spokesman for Indian peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, said a Congolese army brigade attacked renegade troops loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda early on Saturday around the town of Sake. "They did not achieve much success. In fact, they lost some previously occupied positions," Dalal told Reuters. U.N. military intelligence sources said four army soldiers were killed and 21 wounded. They gave no figures for Nkunda's losses. However, a Congolese army commander said government forces had responded to fire from Nkunda's troops. "We were attacked by the insurgents. They attacked hard but we reacted, we are occupying our normal positions," said Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, deputy commander of government forces in North Kivu. Earlier this week, officials said 150 rebel troops were killed by U.N. peacekeepers who repulsed an offensive by Nkunda's army toward the North Kivu regional capital, Goma. The United Nations has the largest peacekeeping mission in the world in Congo, numbering about 17,600. President Joseph Kabila won a presidential run-off vote in October to become Congo's first freely elected president in more than four decades, mainly thanks to strong support in the east where he is credited with ending a 1998-2003 war.
