Rebels in Congo say they have pulled out of a town on the Ugandan border they captured last week.

Rebel spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa says rebels pulled out of Ishasha on Sunday. Bisimwa said Tuesday the rebels "wanted to show that we are for peace and our objective is not to take other areas."

On Sunday, U.N. special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo berated rebel leader Laurent Nkunda for starting the offensive last week along the Ugandan border in violation of a cease-fire. Rebels say the offensive was aimed not at Congo's army but at ethnic Hutu fighters who fled to Congo from Rwanda after that country's 1994 genocide.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved