More than 600 Rwandan Hutu rebels have been killed or captured since January in an operation backed by the UN mission to the country, the Congolese army said Wednesday.

A total of 609 members of the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had been "neutralised since the start of operation Amani Leo, on January 1, and a large quantity of arms had been recovered," said army major Sylvain Ekenge without giving a breakdown of the figure.

UN troops are backing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army in operation Amani Leo, meaning Peace Now in Swahili, which is targeting the FDLR in the two Kivu provinces bordering Rwanda.

Two soldiers had been killed and 13 others wounded, he added. The figures cannot be independently verified.

The offensive in Nord and Sud-Kivu follows operation Kimi II led by the Congolese army from March to December 2009, also against the FDLR.

The operations aims to repatriate rebels including many of whom took part in the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and who are also illegally exploiting mineral resources in the region.

In early 2009, the FDLR was estimated at a strength of about 6,000 fighters.

The FDLR is regularly accused of atrocities against civilians. Other armed groups are also active in the region.

(Source: AFP)