KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda denies that Ugandan soldiers are fighting alongside Congolese army deserters mounting Congo's latest rebellion but says it is investigating reports that some Congolese rebels are wearing Ugandan army uniforms.

Army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye said Wednesday his country has no military presence in Congo, and that rumors to the contrary could be "a scheme intended to soil Uganda's image."

A U.N. report said soldiers from Rwanda have been fighting alongside the rebels in eastern Congo. Rwanda vigorously denies that and accusations that it helped arm the three-month-old insurgency.

Kulayigye said his government also is investigating reports that a rebel commander is using "a vehicle associated with the Ugandan army."

Some 600 Congolese soldiers defeated in a battle with rebels fled across the border to Uganda last month.