KINSHASA, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- New weapons have been illegally transported to the east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), threatening stability there, a UN official said here Wednesday.

    The official of the UN special mission to the DRC said rebels of the Hutu nationality of Rwanda in east DRC are rearming themselves and the United Nations confirmed that new weapons have been smuggled to armed forces there, including the government forces of the country and tribal militias.

    On situation in northeast Congo's Ituri province, she said the renewed fighting broke out last week, but armed factions from the Hema and Lendu tribes reached a ceasefire Monday under the mediation of the UN mission and the procedure of refugees returning home is still underway.

    There are 14,000 refugees in refugee camps in the capital of Ituri province.

    Ituri province has seen repeated bursts of fighting despite a 2002 peace deal that ended a five-year, six-nation war in the DRC,Africa's third-largest country.

    The two factions are battling for control of resources in Ituri,including its timber and coal.

    The latest fighting erupted early Monday when a Hema-dominated militia attacked Lendu fighters in the village of Djegu, 35 kilometers east of Mahagi, near the border with Uganda.

    Fighting between the two groups in May and June 2003 killed at least 500 people, prompting the United Nations to beef up its force and give it an expanded mandate allowing the use of force toprotect civilians.

    The United Nations currently has 4,500 troops in Ituri. Enditem