Congolese militiamen fighting U.N. peacekeepers and government troops are using civilians as human shields in a battle raging in the northeast of the lawless country, the United Nations said on Wednesday. With Congo’s first free national elections in 40 years due in a few months, the world body has stepped up attempts to help a chaotic national army pacify the east, where rebels and militia still roam three years after war officially ended. Hundreds of peacekeepers and thousands of government troops have fought for three days to dislodge militia fighters from the town of Tchei in northeastern Ituri district, where ethnic violence has killed 60,000 people since 1999. Full Story