Kampala  - Armed Congolese have abducted eight Ugandans from a disputed island on Lake Albert, a government newspaper reported Monday.

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been clashing for several years over ownership of the tiny island, which is in a region to Uganda's north-west where oil has been discovered.

A British geologist working for an oil company was in 2007 shot dead on the island by Congolese who claimed he had strayed onto their territory.

Tensions between the two countries, which were at war from 1998 to 2004, were re-ignited when commercial oil reserves were confirmed in the region in 2006.

Ugandan energy officials say oil reserves in the Albertine region and those further north are estimated at hundreds of millions of barrels.