UGANDAN-BACKED rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have accused government troops and their Zimbabwean allies of attacking a rebel position in the northwest of the country. The attack took place Tuesday on “our defensive position in Lusombo,” Jean-Pierre Bemba, the leader of the Congo Liberation Front (FLC) said late on Thursday. “Our forces repelled the attack,” said Bemba. His allegation could not be independently confirmed. Bemba said he had given a report of the attack to the United Nations peacekeeping force in DRC, known as MONUC. His accusation comes amid progress in the DRC’s hitherto moribund peace process. All players in the war except the FLC have pulled back from frontlines and MONUC troops have deployed in several parts of the country.