KINSHASA, Feb. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Unidentified militiamen ambushed UN peacekeepers on patrol in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday, leaving nine of the troops dead, a UN official said.

    The attack took place on Friday morning in the Ituri district, where the United Nations has deployed 4,800 peacekeepers, said Mamadou Bah, spokesman of the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC).

    Nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed in the ambush, while another four UN peacekeepers who were initially reported as missing had later been found "in good health," the spokesman added.

    The district is one of the country's worst trouble spots where ethnic militias have killed about 50,000 civilians since 1999.

    UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday condemned the murder, and extended his deepest sympathy and condolences to the government of Bangladesh and the families of the victims.

    Annan reaffirmed that the attack would not deter the MONUC from carrying out its mandate in helping move the peace process forward in the DRC.

    Around 16,000 UN peacekeepers from about 50 countries are overseeing a transition toward peace in the vast central African country, where a five-year war that sucked in six nations has left nearly 4 million people dead. Enditem