Uganda military Spokesperson Chris Magezi said hundreds of CODECO fighters attacked a Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) military post in the DRC locality of Fataki, in the province of Ituri, on Wednesday and Thursday.

The army retaliated on both occasions, killing 31 militants on the first day and 211 on the second day, Magezi said in a post on X late on Friday. One UPDF soldier was killed and four others injured, he added.

CODECO Spokesperson Basa Zukpa Gerson refuted the army's account on Saturday, saying that the group only lost two fighters and that the UPDF death toll was higher.

A United Nations source who did not wish to be named said 70 rebels and 12 Ugandan troops were killed.

There were further clashes between the two sides on Saturday morning, CODECO and a local civil society leader said.

--Reuters--