The United Nations peacekeeping force launched a new military initiative in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in an effort to disarm local militants and pressure them to join the peace process.

About 500 UN soldiers on Wednesday moved into the village of Zhombe, the hiding place of the members of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI). The group was suspected of being involved in the ambush of UN soldiers in February, the UN special mission in Congo said in a statement.

The operation ended Thursday with the UN force capturing a cache of guns and ammunition. But the two sides did not exchange fire, the statement said.

This has been the third operation by the UN force against the FNI since Feb. 25, when 21 Bangladeshi soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission were ambushed in the Ituri region, leaving nine dead and 11 wounded.

The UN operation has also been intended to help push forward the transitional government's plan on demobilization and re-entry into the society. The plan will meet its deadline on April 1.

Around 16,000 UN peacekeepers from about 50 countries are stationed in the country, where a five-year war that sucked in sixnations has left nearly 4 million people dead.

Source: Xinhua