UN: Rebels, army battle as Congo fighting spreads

As fighting spread in eastern Congo and a fragile cease-fire appeared close to unraveling, more than a dozen bodies lay scattered Thursday inside the mud-walled homes of this rebel-occupied town.

Villagers who began trickling back to Kiwanja after two days of fighting said rebels had killed those suspected of supporting a local pro-government militia known as the Mai Mai. Rebels, however, said the dead, mostly men in civilian clothes, had been armed militia fighters.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, one woman said rebels killed her 17-year-old son.

"They came to kill the people," said Ajeni Niragasigwa. "They did not come to …