By Tim Cocks

KAMPALA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Uganda's military said on Wednesday it had shot dead two Congolese soldiers on the volatile border between the two countries, after they tried to resist being arrested on suspicion of raping two teenage girls.

Army spokesman for western Uganda, Tabaro Kiconco, said the two soldiers had crossed illegally into Uganda on Tuesday.

"They then forced two Ugandan girls into sex at gunpoint. One was 16, one was 14," he said. "We got information from civilians in the area then sprang into action."

Congolese officials were not immediately available for comment.

A string of shootouts between the two former foes along their border at Lake Albert -- where oil was discovered this year -- has killed several civilians since August, including a British contractor working for Canada's Heritage Oil Corp.

In the most deadly clash, six civilians died in September when Ugandan troops opened fire on a Congolese passenger boat.

Kiconco said the Ugandan army had exchanged fire with the Congolese soldiers.

"We came with the intention of arresting them, but they were armed and they resisted. We had no option but to put them out of action," he said.

Uganda and Congo signed a deal on Saturday meant to ease tensions over their border and deal with security breaches by their own troops on either side, but the document was thin on detail and failed to agree on a method for border demarcation.

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