200 mutinous soldiers killed in east Congo, says government

A Congolese government spokesman says the army has killed some 200 soldiers taking part in a mutiny in the country's east.

Lambert Mende said Wednesday that large stashes of arms also had been seized as part of the army's effort to put down the rebellion, which he blamed on renegade general Bosco Ntaganda.

The International Criminal Court has sought Ntaganda's arrest for years on war crimes charges and his exact whereabouts are unknown.

Ntaganda was once a feared warlord until he joined the Congolese army in 2009 as a general following a peace deal that paved the way for him and his men to be integrated into the military.

In April, however, he and some of his troops defected. A new rebel group operating in the area, though, says Ntaganda is not with them.

AP