At least 12 fishermen have died and a dozen more are missing after deadly clashes on Lake Edward, which is shared by Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the AFP news agency quotes a Congolese official as saying.

Muhindo Kyakwa, a senior official in the province of North Kivu, said the bodies were still floating on the lake.

"We can't retrieve them because Ugandan troops are opening fire on anything that moves," he said.

Last week there were clashes on the lake, which DR Congo said was over fishing rights