KAMPALA - The Ugandan army says it will send about 1,000 troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri region before the end of the month.

Ugandan forces are already separately engaged in the region in a combat mission alongside Congolese forces against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group with bases in the country.

The new soldiers being deployed are part of the East African force being sent to tackle some of the 100 different rebel groups based in eastern DR Congo.

They have been in training since June in Uganda’s western district of Kiruhura, army spokesman Brig Gen Felix Kulaigye told the BBC.

The announcement comes days after neighbouring Kenya sent the second batch of its soldiers to DR Congo's North Kivu province to take part in the regional force.

In recent weeks the M23 rebel group has advanced towards Goma town, the provincial capital. Thousands of people have been displaced in the latest fighting.

On Sunday, East African leaders announced that talks aimed at bringing peace to eastern DR Congo would take place in Nairobi this month.