( CNN ) -- Nine Hutu tribal fighters and several Rwandan and Congolese troops were killed in fighting in eastern Congo , a United Nations spokesman said , as the two governments continued an unprecedented partnership to combat ethnic violence . Laurent Nkunda , seen here in November 2008 , was reportedly arrested last week in Rwanda . The fighting against the Hutus in the Lubero region came a day after Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda , of the rival Tutsi ethnic group , was arrested by Rwandan authorities . U.N. spokesman Jean Paul Deitrich told CNN on Saturday that no further details about the fighting were immediately available . Lubero is about 200 kilometers ( 124 miles ) northeast of Goma , the regional capital . Nkunda 's arrest early Friday raised hopes for peace in the war-ravaged region . International observers hope it will lead the roughly 1,500 fighters that follow him to join with government forces . Hear how Nkunda tried to flee capture » . Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have traditionally been on different sides of the conflict in eastern Congo -- which pits ethnic Tutsis , supported by Rwanda , against Congo-backed Hutus . The fighting is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide of the early 1990s , when hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were killed in ethnic battles between minority Tutsi and majority Hutu . A United Nations report last month accused Rwanda and Congo of fighting a proxy war in the region , using the ethnic groups . It said both sides had used child soldiers , and committed executions and rape , in the conflict . CNN 's Katy Byron contributed to this report .
Fighting comes day after Rwanda arrests Tutsi rebel leader , Laurent Nkunda . Neighboring nations have been on different sides of the conflict in east Congo . Struggle pits Tutsis , supported by Rwanda , against the Congo-backed Hutu . The conflict is effectively an extension of the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s .