KINSHASA, 3 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - One of four UN Nepalese troops wounded by militiamen in an attack in village of Lugo in the northeastern Ituri district of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), died of his wounds on Friday, a UN spokesman said.

The soldier is the 18th peacekeeper killed in the current peacekeeping UN mission to the DRC known as MONUC, the spokesman, Col Thierry Provendier, said in Kinshasa.

The injuries of the three other soldiers are not life threatening, he added. They were admitted to a hospital in Bunia, the main town in Ituri.

They were wounded while escorting a UN human rights team that went to Lugo by helicopter to investigate allegations that members of a militia had abducted women in April and raped them in a local chapel.

The team's helicopter came under fire while taking off from Lugo. The Nepalese peacekeepers returned fire and the UN sent in reinforcements.

Since 2005, MONUC has disarmed and demobilised 14,071 combatants. However, isolated groups of militiamen continue to launch attacks.