Militia fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo have released five UN peacekeepers they had been holding hostage in the violent east of the country since late May.
The five, members of a 17,000-strong peacekeeping contingent in the country, were part of a group of Nepalese soldiers captured by militiamen during fighting in the northeastern Ituri district.
The militiamen had freed two other Nepalese soldiers on 27 June.
Although the release was a relief for the 17,000-strong UN contingent in the vast central African state, violence by rebels and renegade militia groups in the east has dogged preparations for historic elections due to be held on 30 July.
One Nepali soldier was killed, three were wounded and seven were captured in the May gunbattle with fighters loyal to Peter Karim, a warlord from the local Lendu ethnic group.
