[02 March 2005] KINSHASA,(Saba) - U.N. Pakistani peacekeepers killed at least 60 militiamen in a clash in northeastern Congo on Tuesday, a week after nine Bangladeshi U.N. troops were killed there, senior U.N. sources said on Wednesday.

The firefight took place on Tuesday, about 20 miles north of Bunia, the capital of the violent Ituri province, where nine peacekeepers were murdered Feb. 25 by militia in a well-executed ambush.

This is sending a strong signal to these militias that we are serious,'' the source said .

The clash happened at Loga, near where the Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed in an ambush last Friday. Loga lies 19 miles outside Bunia, the main town in the Ituri region, one of the worst troublespots in the Congo.

TD

SABA