Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Rwandan rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked civilians and forced thousands to flee their homes, the United Nations said, a day before the two nations are expected to announce a successful end to a joint hunt for the insurgents.

The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, killed and raped civilians in several villages in North Kivu province, ”sparking a new wave of displacement” since Feb. 13, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said today in an emailed statement.

”There are also growing fears of reprisal attacks by the FDLR against civilians suspected of collaborating with the joint DRC-Rwanda military operation against the rebel group that began in late January,” the Geneva-based agency said.

FDLR spokesman Laforge Fis didn’t immediately answer calls to his mobile phone. The group has previously denied attacking civilians, blaming enemy forces for the crimes.

Congo and Rwanda will tomorrow mark the end of their hunt for suspected FDLR members in North Kivu province. The two countries claim to have destroyed several command bases of the FDLR, which they say is the root of the deadliest war since World War II. Congo’s army reported “scores” of FDLR casualties. Hundreds more were disarmed and returned to Rwanda, according to the UN Mission in Congo, or Monuc.

The FDLR denies the operations were successful.

Monuc will support a second wave of anti-FDLR operations by Congolese forces in South Kivu province, Monuc head Alan Doss said in an interview yesterday. Monuc will also help ensure the FDLR don’t retake areas they were driven out of, Doss said.

Rwandan Genocide

The FDLR formed out of Hutu commanders involved in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and youths recruited from refugee camps in Congo. Rwanda’s Tutsi-dominated government sees them as a threat to its security.

The FDLR “brutally slaughtered” about 100 civilians in North Kivu since the launch of the joint operation, New York- based Human Rights Watch said on Feb. 13.

Rwanda twice invaded Congo in the 1990s, triggering two wars in which more than 5 million people died since 1998. Until last year, Congo’s army cooperated with the FDLR, according to a December report by UN investigators. It cut its ties when Rwanda agreed to arrest Laurent Nkunda, the leader of a rival rebel group, which last year routed Congo’s army, displacing more than 250,000 people.

Civilians in South Kivu were suffering similar attacks, according to Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Up to 8,000 civilians had fled their homes amid reports of “violence against civilians,” he said yesterday on the phone from the capital, Kinshasa

To contact the reporter on this story: Franz Wild in Kinshasa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 24, 2009 10:55 EST