Rwanda troops pushed briefly into Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to attack Hutu rebels early this week but have since returned home, diplomatic sources said today.
"They've had people on the ground for a targeted and surgical operation and brought them back," one of the sources said.
Another source said the troops returned from a foray into DRC's North Kivu province up to a day before Rwanda 's government issued a denial on Thursday that it had any troops in Congo.
Rwanda has threatened to attack Hutu fighters based in Congo if the government in Kinshasa and UN forces failed to disarm the rebels, some of whom took part in Rwanda 's 1994 genocide.
The UN mission in Congo said on Thursday it had evidence that Rwandan soldiers carrying new military hardware had entered the Central African country.
Rwanda has already invaded Congo twice in the past decade to attack rebels based there who include some of the Interahamwe Hutu militants who took part in Rwanda's genocide a decade ago.