three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September, 2007, against the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Haskanita Military Group Site, in the locality of Umm Kadada, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed 12 and severely wounded 8 soldiers, destroyed communications facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.Confirmation of charges hearing in the case against Banda and Jerbo to start on 8 December, 2010. The hearing was initially scheduled to start on 22 November, 2010.
(WASHINGTON) – Two Sudanese rebel leaders who stand accused of leading a deadly attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers more than three years ago will not contest the charges at the confirmation hearing scheduled for next month, the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today.- - -
Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus each face three counts of violence to life in the form of murder, war crime of attacking a peacekeeping mission and pillaging.
The two men allegedly commanded a 1,000-strong rebel force in the Sept. 29, 2007 attack, on the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS) base in Haskanita in North Darfur. They looted the camp of 17 vehicles, refrigerators, computers, mobile phones, ammunition and money.
The attack killed twelve soldiers and severely injured eight others who were mainly from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Botswana. It was the deadliest single attack on the peacekeepers since they began their mission in late 2004.
Banda was a senior military commander in Darfur’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) before he was dismissed during a bitter split among the movement’s governing elite in mid-2007. He went on to form a rival faction, the JEM Collective Leadership, with former JEM vice president Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. The latter appeared voluntarily before the ICC to answer charges relating to the same attack but the court declined to pursue those charges in February citing insufficient evidence to prove his criminal responsibility.
Jerbo on the other hand was a leading figure in the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)-Unity faction before being removed later for unknown reasons.
The two suspects surrendered voluntarily to the ICC last June, almost a year after a summons of appear was issued for them in secrecy and appeared before a judge to be formally notified of the charges. Presiding judge Sylvia Steiner from Brazil set November 22nd as the date for a hearing to confirm the charges against the two men — a requirement before the case can go to trial.
The weekly briefing issued by the prosecutor on Wednesday revealed that his office and the defense made a joint filing before the Pre-Trial Chamber informing the judges of an agreement between the parties which may allow for a shortened confirmation hearing if the judges so decide.
"The parties agreed that the facts contained in the document containing the charges, which the judges are encouraged to consider, as being proven for the purpose of the confirmation hearing.....the Defence waived its rights to challenge the prosecution evidence, present its own evidence or contest the charges during the hearing. The approach agreed by the parties will involve a limited oral presentation by the Prosecution and the Legal Representatives for Victims as may be ordered by the Chamber," said the prosecutor’s office.
The prosecution described this approach as a "novel" one for the ICC and if approved by the judges "could save judicial time and resources".
"This agreement by the parties is limited to the confirmation hearing. In the event the Pre-Trial Chamber confirms the case for trial, the Defence may at that stage contest any of the charges".
Officials at the prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the new development when contacted by Sudan Tribune. [...]
Photo: Karim Khan (L), the lawyer for Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (C) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (R), both suspected of having committed war crimes in Darfur, speaks at the International Criminal Court in The Hague June 17, 2010 (Reuters/ST)
Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to reschedule the confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo) to Wednesday, 8 December, 2010, in light of developments that have occurred in the composition of Chambers and of the Court schedule, as well as of the number of courtrooms which are available to the Court. The hearing was initially scheduled to start on 22 November, 2010.Note from Sudan Watch Editor: I say, well done to the ICC for staying on the case and getting at the truth. Any attack on peacekeepers constitutes a war crime. Click on Haskanita label below to view related reports and photos in Sudan Watch archive.
The confirmation hearing is held to ensure that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he or she has been charged. The suspects have the right to attend the hearing or, in their absence, be represented by counsel. Pre-Trial Chamber I decided that, should the suspects intend to waive their right to be present at the confirmation hearing, the written request to the Chamber in this regard must be submitted no later than Monday, 8 November, 2010.
Mr Banda and Mr Jerbo are charged with three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September, 2007, against the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Haskanita Military Group Site, in the locality of Umm Kadada, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed 12 and severely wounded 8 soldiers, destroyed communications facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.
This case is the fourth in the situation in Darfur after the cases of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Muhammad Harun (Ahmad Harun) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb), The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir and The Prosecutor v. Bahar Idriss Abu Garda.
The suspects (Harun and Kushayb, and Al Bashir) in the first two cases remain at large. Abu Garda appeared voluntarily before the ICC on 18 May, 2009. The confirmation of charges hearing took place from 19 to 29 October, 2009. On 8 February, 2010, Pre-Trial Chamber I declined to confirm the charges against him.
The situation in Darfur was referred to the International Criminal Court by United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 on 31 March, 2005, under article 13(b) of the Rome Statute.
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Associate Legal Outreach Officer, on +31 (0)70 515-9152 or at fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int
The ICC's activities can also be followed through YouTube and Twitter
Maanweg 174, 2516 AB The Hague, The Netherlands – Maanweg 174, 2516 AB La Haye, Pays-Bas
Telephone – Téléphone +31(0)70 515 85 15 / Facsimile – Télécopie +31(0)70 515 85 55
www.icc-cpi.int
Top International Criminal Court investigator, Dirk Freimann, a 43-year-old German, joined ICC in 2007 after serving his country’s police for 22 years and has led investigations in Georgia and Bosnia Herzegovina.- - -
He was team leader for investigations against a rebel leader Idriss Abugarda of the United Resistance Front, who was accused of killing peacekeepers in Haskanita in Darfur, Southern Sudan, in 2007.
Abugarda was the first suspect to voluntarily appear before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 in 2009. He was, however, acquitted for lack of evidence.
The General Persecutor of Darfur Crimes Justice, Adbul-Daim Zamrawi, has announced resuming investigations over all crimes committed in the region in the period between 2003 and 2010. In press statements after arrival in the town of Al-Fashir, Northern Darfur State; Zamrawi affirmed the commitment of the Ministry of Justice and achieve righteousness as it's imperative for security and stability.- - -
(KAMPALA) - Joseph Kony, leader of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, is hiding in Sudan's Darfur region after fleeing a pursuit by the Uganda army in Central African Republic (CAR), the army said on Friday.- - -
The rebel group, which has waged a brutal insurgency for nearly 20 years, was ejected from northern Uganda in 2005 and has since roamed remote jungle straddling the borders of Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic.
The LRA is known for chilling violence including hacking body parts off victims, the abduction of young boys to fight and young girls to be used as sex slaves.
"Joseph Kony is no longer in Central African Republic. He crossed into Sudan a few days ago but some elements of LRA commanded by Dominic Ongwen are still in CAR," Felix Kulayigye, defence ministry spokesman told a news conference.
An International Criminal Court (ICC) indictee, Kony often escapes into Sudan whenever he's pursued in CAR because the Ugandan army lacks the mandate to operate there, the army said.
"We cannot pronounce ourselves on whether Kony receives any support from the Sudanese authorities but what we can confirm is that (the Sudanese) are aware of his presence on their territory and they've not done anything to chase him," he said.
The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) has a forward operating base in Obo, CAR, where it has been fighting the LRA with U.S. backing since September 2009.
According to rights groups, the LRA has abducted hundreds of people in central Africa over the past 18 months and killed many of them, often by crushing their skulls with clubs.
Separately, Kulaigye said the army, the UPDF was committed to remaining neutral in Uganda's forthcoming presidential poll.
President Yoweri Museveni, a former guerrilla, has in the past been accused of using the army to intimidate the populace to vote for him and soldiers to facilitate vote rigging.
The commander of armed forces, Lt. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, was quoted earlier this year in the local media as saying the army would crush the opposition if they engaged in violence.
"The job of ensuring security in elections is for the Uganda Police and the UPDF recognises that Uganda is a multi-party democracy and respects all the political parties and their leaders. We take no sides at all," said Kulaigye. (Editing by David Clarke and Myra MacDonald)
October 27, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – The former U.S. special envoy to Sudan on Tuesday said that elements within the government loyal to the Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi are seeking to derail the January 2011 referendum in order to avert what appears to be the likely separation of the South.- - -
Andrew Natsios who just returned from a trip that took him to South Sudan said that while president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and his 2nd Vice president Ali Osman Taha are "moderates", he pointed fingers at pro-Turabi figures within the regime who do not want the South to separate. [...]
He also warned that any move to delay the vote by more than two weeks "could bring violence" to the region. Furthermore, he said that the Obama administration should be prepared to use its air force should the North attempt to invade the South or take over the oilfields.
Click here to read full story.
Sudan has not been included in meetings to discuss ways to fight back against the Lord's Resistance Army. This is a missed opportunity, says Ledio Cakaj, a guest blogger from the Enough Project. ...ON LRA, AFRICAN UNION OVERESTIMATES MILITARY MIGHT, LEAVES OUT KEY ACTOR
CORRECTION: Enough learned that in fact the Sudanese embassy in Bangui sent representation to the meeting but that no high-ranking officials from Khartoum attended.- - -
Ledio: you're simply poo-stirring against the Sudanese government, vis-a-vis the LRA regional insecurity issue, aren't you not?- - -
If not, care to explain this patently absurd and contradictory statement in your post below?
"simply to press for potential Sudanese support to the LRA to end."
Thought not.
China (At least 1,770 executions)Barbarians. How many of those people executed were innocent, drunk, drugged, mentally ill, I wonder. Capital punishment (death penalty) is wrong, wicked, evil. Maybe that is why the only legal US source of sodium thiopental has refused to play any further part in executions. Click here to view an avalanche of shocking, barbaric, blood curdling comments at The Arizona Republic's article, 26 October 2010, "U.S. Supreme Court clears way for Arizona execution".
Iran (At least 94)
Saudi Arabia (At least 86)
United States (60)
Pakistan (31)
Yemen (24)
Vietnam (21)
Jordan (11)
From: African Center for Justice and Peace Studies
Contact: Osman Hummaida, Executive Director
Phone: +44 7956 095738 E-mail: osman@
(27 October 2010) - On 21 October, Judge Shegifa Ali Eshag of the Special Court in Nyala, South Darfur, sentenced a group of nine individuals allegedly affiliated with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to death for a carjacking in Khour Baskawit, near Selia and Yaseen in South Darfur on 13 May 2010. Four members of the group are under the age of 18. The group was convicted under Articles 50 (offences against the state), 51 (fomenting war against the state), 168 (armed robbery), and 182 (criminal damage) under the Sudanese Penal Code of 1991.
The names of the adults sentenced to death are:
Aboalgasim Abdalla Abubakar, 30 years old, Masaalit Tribe
Hassan Eshag Abdalla, 20 years old, Zagawa Tribe
Adam Altoum Adam, 40 years old, Zagawa Tribe
Mohamed Adam Eisa, 28 years old, Zagawa Tribe
Alsagig Abakar Yahya, 20 years old, Tungour Tribe
The names of the four children are:
Ibrahim Shrief Yousef, 17 years old, Birged Tribe
Altyeb Mohamed Yagoup, 16 years old, Zagawa Tribe
Abdalla Abdalla Doud, 16 years old, Gimr Tribe
Abdarazig Daoud Abdelseed, 15 years, Birged Tribe
The application of the death penalty to a child is forbidden by Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Sudan is a state party. Notwithstanding its international commitments, domestic law in Sudan continues to make provisions for the application of capital punishment for children. Although Article 36 of the Interim National Constitution (INC) of 2005 restricts the use of the death penalty for individuals under the age of 18, it does not exempt children from application of the death penalty in the event of “serious offences”, namely hudud crimes. Under the 1991 Sudanese Penal Code, certain hudud offences, including armed robbery, are capital crimes. The 2004 Child Law of Sudan attempted to rectify this gap in compliance with international law by restricting juvenile executions in principle and recommending maximum sentences. However, the Child Law fails to fully protect children by defining a child as a person under 18, unless “they have reached maturity under other applicable law”. This opens the door to application of Article 9 of the Sudanese Penal Code of 1991 which allows for persons to be considered adults if they have attained puberty. Despite amendments made to the Child Law on 29 December 2009, this gap in who may be sentenced to death was never remedied.
In this case, the four minors sentenced to death had given their actual ages to the registry, but the court tried them as adults pursuant to medical examinations while they were in custody that determined that they were over 18. There is no specialised permanent medical committee or standard procedure for assessing age, and in remote areas the medical committee is often presided over by a medical assistant rather than a doctor. Even when a doctor does conduct the examination, no medical tests are undertaken and the assessment of the child’s age is based upon physical appearance, and is thus more estimation than scientific assessment. Though the government of Sudan has argued before that in practice no juvenile is ever actually executed and minors are sentenced in order to collect diya, it can still be argued that the act of sentencing a child to death in light of the mental anguish imposed is in and of itself a rights violation, even if the sentence is never implemented.
In addition to the penalty, it appears that a number of procedural irregularities may have undermined the rights of these children. The Child Law of 2004 established specialized courts and juvenile detention centres, but the minors were tried in the same court as the rest of the group, violating their right to a fair trial under Article 34 of the INC. The case has been appealed, and will be tried by the Chief of Judges in South Darfur rather than an Appeals Court (which would be presided over by three judges) due to procedural regulations of the Special Court. The Special Court which convicted the group is distinct from the Special Criminal Court on the Events in Darfur established in 2005 following the opening of the ICC’s investigation into Darfur. In this case, the Special Court refers to a local court mandated since 1997 to prosecute cases of armed robbery and hijackings. Though the media frequently reports trials as being heard solely by the “Special Court” the two are not analogous and function separately; in this case, this is significant as the Special Courts for Darfur receive significantly more judicial monitoring and oversight.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies condemns the use of the death penalty in all cases, particularly when imposed against minors, as this is a clear violation of international law. In addition, there are worrying suggestions that the death penalty is being applied in this case as a tool to suppress ethnic minorities and against individuals who are viewed as being against the Sudanese state. In light of the insecurity in Nyala as of late, it is also possible that the group is being used as an example. The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies calls on the Ministry of Justice to review the cases of the group and conditions under which they were sentenced, and to re-try those under 18 in a specialized juvenile court.
The Catholic Archbishop Juan José Aguirre Munos of Bangassou city in southeast of Central African Republic announced that the LRA have recently attacked the town of Birao in the northeast --which borders Darfur -- of the country.Source: See reports below.
"I know for a fact that the largest group of LRA fighters has left the area in my diocese to head north. Among them is probably their leader, Joseph Kony," a Press TV correspondent quoted the archbishop as saying on Friday, 15 October 2010.
"LRA rebels to be given 'terrorist' status" -African Union (Source: AFP report, 17 Oct 2010 - see copy below).- - -
- - -
"The LRA is now a terrorist organisation like Al-Qaeda. Thus, it is urgent today to put an end to the atrocities of this rebellion." -CAR Defence Minister Jean-Francis Bozize at African Union session on 14 October 2010 in Bangui, CAR. (Source: AFP report, 14 Oct 2010 - see copy below).
- - -
"The worst enemies of Africa are African themselves. Those who pick up guns, munitions and other deadly weapons to killed citizens pretending saving the people from injustice or dictatorship.
But how many innocent people killed before to get to power and sometime never? These LRA, Al Qaeda in north Africa and all the rebel movement and any other thieves, bribery, embezzlement culprits have to be hunt down from Africa." -Anonymous commenter (Source: Comment at AFP report, 14 Oct 2010 - see copy below).
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"Kenya's case is a signal that if you produce massive violence it is not a ticket to power, but to The Hague." -ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo (Source: Daily Nation report, 22 Oct 2010 - see excerpt below).
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"Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union." -Article 30 on Suspension, African Union, Constitutive Act done at Lomé, Togo, 11 July 2000. (Source: International Law, 03 October 2010 www.dipublico.com.ar)
Already, officials from the ICC have been to Guinea, which is planning its elections, and Cote d'voire to impress upon the leaders to hold peaceful elections.Read full story at Daily Nation, 22 Oct 2010, reprinted today at Kenya Watch:"Kenya: Four to Stand Hague Trial Over Poll Violence This Year"
"Kenya's case is a signal that if you produce massive violence it is not a ticket to power, but to The Hague," the ICC prosecutor said.
Mr Ocampo, however, admitted that he is working against 'strong elements' who still perpetuate the idea that committing atrocities is a way of gaining power.
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the armed group that has waged a campaign of terror and human-rights violations beginning in northern Uganda and spreading through central Africa, has now set its sights on the already troubled Darfur province of Sudan, an African archbishop has warned.- - -
Archbishop Juan José Aguirre Muños of Bangassou in the Central African Republic told the Fides news service that LRA troops have attacked towns in his country, and now are headed north toward the uncontrolled border of Sudan. The LRA has long been involved in skirmishes in southern Sudan, near its original stronghold in northern Uganda. The move westward into Darfur could exacerbate the bloodshed that already plagues the province.
The LRA, which was originally regarded as a rebel group in Uganda, is led by Joseph Kony, who will face multiple human-rights charges before an international court if and when he is apprehended.
Bishop Muños reported that the LRA troops headed toward Darfur include a number of child soldiers. The group has made a practice of kidnapping children from the towns it raids and pressing them into service in combat.
The Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has headed for the already restive Darfur region in Sudan, amid calls for their arrest on charges of war crimes, an archbishop says.- - -
The Catholic Archbishop Juan José Aguirre Munos of Bangassou city in southeast of Central African Republic announced that the LRA have recently attacked the town of Birao in the northeast --which borders Darfur -- of the country.
"I know for a fact that the largest group of LRA fighters has left the area in my diocese to head north. Among them is probably their leader, Joseph Kony," a Press TV correspondent quoted the archbishop as saying on Friday.
"In recent months, the LRA have attacked towns like Yalinga, then continuing north up to Birao, located in the far northeastern part of the country, on the border with Sudan's Darfur region," Munos stressed.
Meanwhile, Uganda's New Vision newspaper reported on its website Kony has entered the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.
“He is in Darfur, he crossed two weeks ago into southern Darfur,” said army spokesperson Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye was quoted on Thursday.
The United Nations refugee agency today expressed concern over population displacement resulting from attacks perpetrated by the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Central African Republic and neighbouring countries.- - -
The latest raid occurred in the town of Birao in the north of the Central African Republic (CAR) last Sunday, during which the rebels abducted a number of girls, looted property and set shops on fire, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
“The LRA’s campaign of terror against civilians has intensified since September,” with attacks in the CAR, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and southern Sudan, he said.
Northeastern DRC has seen at least six attacks and three ambushes in the last few weeks, all in Haut Uélé district. In a single village, Nambiongo, 21 people were killed and were 2,500 displaced, while fear prompted 2,000 people to flee Dungu, the district headquarters.
In southern Sudan, the LRA also attacked the villages of Ribodo and Nahua in Western Equatoria state on 4 September, killing eight people and displacing 2,600.
So far this year, the group, whose origins are in Uganda, has carried out more than 240 deadly attacks against civilians in the countries where it is active. At least 344 people have been killed.
People living in remote villages are often the victims of the group’s violence, including indiscriminate killings, abductions, rape, mutilation, looting and destruction of property.
Insecurity and poor infrastructure hamper the carrying out of needs assessments and the delivery of aid to affected communities. Many people are traumatized and too scared to return to their farms to cultivate their land, rendering them dependent of humanitarian aid, according to UNHCR.
“This means they will continue to depend on outside help for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Edwards said.
Since December 2008, the LRA has murdered 2,000 people, abducted more than 2,600 and displaced over 400,000, UNHCR said. An estimated 268,000 remain displaced in Orientale province in northeastern DRC, over 120,000 in Western Equatoria in southern Sudan and 30,000 in the southeast of the CAR.
There are also more than 24,000 civilians who have been forced into exile.
UNHCR assists those uprooted by LRA violence by providing emergency shelter, healthcare and psycho-social counselling. The agency supports host communities with water and sanitation facilities.
The Central African Republic called Thursday for the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to be treated and fought like Al-Qaeda, in an appeal made at an African Union meeting.- - -
"The LRA is now a terrorist organisation like Al-Qaeda. Thus, it is urgent today to put an end to the atrocities of this rebellion," Defence Minister Jean-Francis Bozize told AFP at the conference in the capital Bangui.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday and was being attended by other countries affected by LRA activity, "aims to evaluate the security, economic and humanitarian aspects of the LRA presence" in the CAR, Bozize said.
The LRA emerged in 1998 in northern Uganda as a rebel movement dedicated to overthrowing the east African country's government and establishing a regime to uphold the Biblical Ten Commandments.
Today however it is infamous for atrocities against civilians, including massacres, and has moved from Uganda to South Sudan, the CAR and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its leaders are wanted for war crimes.
CAR Foreign Minister Antoine Gambi told AFP that "for us, LRA elements are terrorists exactly like Al-Qaeda. The international community must not be stingy with the means to help Centrafrica to get rid of the insecurity created by this rebellion."
At the opening of the meeting, President Francois Bozize denounced the "incursions, pillage, massacres, rapes, hostage takings and villages that are systematically burned down" by the LRA in four regions of the poor landlocked country, national radio reported.
"I formulate the hope that this session will end in proposals and solutions adequate (to deal with) this recurring question," Bozize said.
The Bangui meeting was attended by representatives of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan -- all affected by the rebel group founded by Joseph Kony.
There were also delegates from Kenya, which is the current president of the AU Peace and Security Council, according to a document of the pan-African organisation.
Also present were members of regional organisations, humanitarian bodies and the United States, the document said.
The AU wants to "show the solidarity of the continent with the CAR and places the emphasis on shared responsibility faced with the LRA issue," AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said, quoted by national radio.
"This session should come up with audacious conclusions that orient us towards action against the LRA," Lamamra said.
In December 2008, the Ugandan army launched a surprise offensive against the LRA in the far northeast of the DR Congo. The operation failed to capture Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, and neutralise the LRA, which reformed in several groups.
Since 2009, Ugandan soldiers have been hunting down the LRA in the CAR with the Bangui government's approval, but the rebels still manage brutal attacks against civilians and take hostages as forced labour.
On Wednesday, the International Crisis Group research institute stated that it believed that Kony is in Darfur in west Sudan. Sudan has not authorised Uganda to pursue Kony in Darfur, according to the ICG.
Comment on this article
President 14/10/10 16:22:
"The worst enemies of Africa are African themselves. Those who pick up guns, munitions and other deadly weapons to killed citizens pretending saving the people from injustice or dictatorship.
But how many innocent people killed before to get to power and sometime never? These LRA, Al Qaeda in north Africa and all the rebel movement and any other thieves, bribery, embezzlement culprits have to be hunt down from Africa."
LIBREVILLE — Central African countries plagued by the brutal rebellion of the Lord's Resistance Army are working to reclassify the group as terrorists, the African Union said on Saturday.- - -
At a meeting this week in the Central African Republic aimed at promoting a joint approach to the LRA, participants agreed to take steps to have the LRA classified as terrorists, rather than rebels, by the AU.
This would give affected countries greater access to international funds and require increased levels of judicial cooperation.
The group has killed about 2,000 people in the last two years, and displaced more than 400,000, according to the UN.
Representatives from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan met in Bangui on Wednesday and Thursday, along with Kenya, where they also agreed to step up joint military action.
"Participants agreed to the following concrete measures: the creation of a joint centre of operations, the creation of a joint taskforce to lead actions against the LRA, and the deployment of joint border patrols," the AU said in a statement. [...]
Photo: An armed fighter of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) stands guard (AFP)
Four African nations have agreed to form a joint military force to fight Lord's Resistance Army rebels, the African Union says.- - -
It says the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Uganda will form a brigade to pursue the militants.
The LRA, which originated in Uganda 20 years ago, has recently mounted deadly attacks in all four countries.
It now targets towns some 1,000km (600 miles) away from Uganda, the UN says. [...]
The action plan to fight the LRA was agreed at Friday's high-level meeting in Bangui - the capital of the Central African Republic, the AU said in a statement. The statement did not mention figures, but a brigade is commonly though to include at least 1,000 men.
Ministers from the four countries affected by LRA attacks decided to establish the joint brigade - which would be backed by the AU - to go after the rebels.
They said they would also set up a joint operations centre, which would facilitate the exchange of information and intelligence.
The plan also envisages joint border patrols. All this would be co-ordinated by a special AU representative.
A diplomatic source contacted by the BBC says the plan also relies on Nigeria and South Africa - the only two African nations that have the logistical capacity to bring the plan to fruition.
This announcement is the first step towards the long-awaited creation of a mobile brigade that the AU can call on in times of trouble, the BBC World Service's Africa editor Martin Plaut says.
He says that although the AU statement only mentions the LRA, there are suggestions that this brigade could provide a blueprint for cross-border operations against al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which is currently plaguing areas of Mali and Mauritania.
The African Union is helping four nations in central Africa build an international army to corner cross-border guerrillas in the Lord's Resistance Army.- - -
Since 1987, a Ugandan band of Christian guerrillas has slipped past borders, killed thousands throughout central African villages, and waged what is today one of the continent's longest-running conflicts -- and that conflict isn't going to end, the African Union says, until the region's militaries can assemble a single, multinational army to fight it.
That's exactly what Central African heads of state signed up to do this week at a conference in Tripoli, where delegates drafted plans for an international anti-guerilla fighting force.
This new army, with soldiers from Uganda, Sudan, Central Africa Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo will pursue the Lords Resistance Army across borders. AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamara says it's an encouraging plan that the AU will back.
Lamara says the plan of action heads of state adopted in Tripoli calls on Central African countries to redouble their efforts. It also seeks to establish a coordinated military plan towards the objective of finally neutralizing the LRA, he says. This plan will put an end to their atrocities and destablizing activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Southern Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The blueprint calls for military assistance from two of the continent's most experienced armies, Nigeria's and South Africa's. It also calls for cross-border intelligence sharing, and for AU support in tracking the maneuvers of Lords Resistance soldiers.
The guerilla faction operating out of Uganda's rural West has been attempting to overthrow Central African governments, Uganda's in particular, and transform the region into a Christian theocracy, with laws based on the biblical ten commandments.
But in the past two years alone, the sect has been accused of killing 2,000 people, and abducting another 2,600, in attacks that the U.N. Human Rights Council says were often orchestrated with child soldiers.
This year has been no less violent, U.N. spokesperson Adrian Edwards says.
"So far this year, the Ugandan rebel group has carried out more than 240 deadly attacks," Edwards said. "At least 344 people have been killed. In most cases these attacks are on vulnerable, isolated communities, with indiscriminate killings, abductions, rape, mutilation, looting and destruction of property."
The International Criminal Court maintains a crimes against humanity arrest warrant against on the LRA's leader, Joseph Kony.
On Thursday, Central Africa Republic defense minister Jean-Francis Bozize asked the international community to classify the guerrillas as a terrorist organization, like al-Qaida, he said.
(Wau) – Insecurity is increasing in Western Bahr al Ghazal state due to the presence of Lord’s Resistance Army and Ambororo nomads.- - -
The commissioner of Wau County, Luka Anthony Ubur expressed his concerns to SRS on Thursday over the security situation in the area.
[Luka Anthony Ubur]: “Western Bahr El Ghazal state has been a very safe place ever since. But now there are cases of rising insecurity. Along the part which is neighboring Western Equitoria State, there is a lot of disturbance from activities of the L-R-A. They entered in the border between us and Raja in Kor Hajer and are now causing trouble. The presence of Ambororo is also a threat to our people.”
That was the commissioner of Wau County, Luka Anthony Ubur speaking to Sudan Radio service in Wau on Thursday.
(KAMPALA) - Defence leaders from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are meeting Sunday in Kampala to discuss new ways to combat rebel groups in the region, notably the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).- - -
"We will discuss security matters, especially border insurgency by negative forces, the Lord's Resistance Army and others," Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga told AFP.
"We expect this meeting to come up with comprehensive measures to deal with negative forces to ensure there is peace in the region, and to see that there is smooth movement of goods and services between the two countries," he added. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in two decades of fighting since LRA chief Joseph Kony took up arms, initially against the Ugandan government.
Long since driven out of Uganda, the guerrillas have carved out a vast region of control in the dense forests of northeast DR Congo, as well as southern Sudan and the Central African Republic, and their insurgency has been marked by appalling violence against civilians.
UGANDA and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have vowed to work together to annihilate the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels who are threatening the security of the two countries.- - -
Defence minister Dr. Crispus Kiyonga and DRC’s defence and veterans’ minister Charles Mwando made the declaration after a meeting in Munyonyo on Saturday.
The ministers met under the Ngurdoto agreement signed by President Yoweri Museveni and his counterpart, Joseph Kabila in Tanzania on September 8, 2007. The ministers will meet again in November.
According to a statement, the ministers reviewed the security situation along the border and commended each other for the joint operations against the LRA rebels in Congo.
They also thanked each other for the on-going operations against the Alliance Defence Forces (ADF) leaders in Eastern DRC.
“In this respect, they agreed to do everything possible to neutralise Joseph Kony, his group, and the ADF rebels,” the statement said.
Kony is the leader of the LRA rebels, who fought an atrocious war in northern Uganda, maiming, looting property, raping and abducting people.
Kiyonga stated that Uganda was ready to support efforts against lawless Ugandans destabilising peace and security in the region.
Mwando thanked the Ugandan government for arresting rebels like Gen. Gadi Ngabo. Ngabo, the leader of the Patriotic Front in Congo, had declared war on the government of Joseph Kabila, claiming it had failed to keep its promises.
Uganda offered training space at its military academies to DRC forces.
Yesterday, Mwando visited the Kimaka Senior Command and Staff College in Jinja. He was briefed on the history, objectives, course modules and administrative structure of the college.
Two Ugandan bishops have told US officials that regional dialogue with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels would work better than a military option against it.- - -
"The issue is no longer the LRA and Uganda," Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu told Catholic News Service in Washington on Wednesday. "The issue now is regional."
Archbishop Odama has headed the Gulu Archdiocese in northern Uganda since 1999 and, during that time, has worked to end hostilities between the UPDF and the LRA.
He travelled to Washington with Anglican Bishop MacLeord Baker Ochola II, retired bishop of Kitgum.
The bishops recently said they do not oppose the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, which US President Barack Obama signed into law in May, but were urging US officials to end the use of force in dealing with the LRA.
The cited numerous occasions on which force did not work against the rebel group.
Efforts by the government to make peace with the rebels, on four times, through dialogue have yielded nothing with LRA leader Joseph Kony refusing to sign the peace agreement --- the last being in 2007.
The break in the talks forced the UPDF to launch an operation christened Lightening Thunder on the rebels’ bases in DR Congo.
But an LRA rebels’ delegation has reportedly written to the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon appealing for the resumption of the talks with the government.
The bishops met with State Department officials, who have until November to develop a strategy for disarming the LRA and they also met with congressional leaders.
"We are afraid," Archbishop Odama said.
"Let us bring [their] leaders together -- the new stakeholders."
Bishop Ochola said those opposed to peace -- those who advocate continued fighting -- should also be invited to the dialogue. He said the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative leaders have offered to mediate multiple times.
Since late 2008, the LRA have killed more than 2,500 civilians in southern Sudan. About 90,000 Sudanese in Western Equatoria province have been displaced from their homes, and 25,000 refugees from Congo and Central African Republic have sought refuge in the province.
Archbishop Odama and Bishop Ochola said capturing or killing Kony would not necessarily end the conflict, because the situation is so complex and includes splinter groups and tribal conflicts.
Kony and his bandits have shifted their base from northern Uganda and now operate in southern Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic.
THE army says calls by the Lords Resistance Army rebels to the UN to initiate fresh peace talks with the government is diversionary and intended to buy time.- - -
UPDF 4th Division Intelligence Officer, Major Victor Opira says peace talks between the government and the LRA were concluded and what is remaining is for the LRA leader, Joseph Kony to sign the final peace agreement document.
He says government is aware that the LRA is not serious and has always wanted to seek for survival means.
Opira also revealed that the strength and capacity of the LRA have greatly been reduced and weakened in the recent operations against the LRA.
September 16, 2010 (MALAKAL) - The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) on Thursday called for the quick and timely provision of security information, saying that delays in passing on sensitive information to relevent authorities in the region, such as that relating to security, results in delays in crucial intervention.- - -
Photo: SPLA spokesperson Gen Kuol Deim Kuol (Photo Ajang Monychol)
Kuol Deim Kuol, official spokesman of the SPLA told Sudan Tribune from Juba that the latest Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attack in western Equatoria, occurred just eight miles away from Yambio, capital of the state and the information about their presence was not passed onto the SPLA forces in the area early enough.
The LRA is a northern Ugandan rebel group with no coherent demands which continues to commit atrocities across the region. At its centre is a messianic cult around its leader, the International Criminal Court charged, Josephy Kony.
“It was made known to our forces after the emergence of reports that civilians have sighted them moving about in the area before the attack,” said Kuol. He explained that the provision of information is important as it helps in preparation and proper positioning of armed forces, in order to provide quick and timely intervention.
“You see, in Western Bahr el Ghazal, LRA has limited activities because once elements associated with it are sighted by the civilians; they give information very fast to our forces. This is what is required. Cooperation in coordination and provision of security is very important,” he added.
Kuol pointed out that the LRA is active in the area, especially in the two counties of Nzara and Yambio because of lack coordination and information sharing. “We have deployed enough manpower but this is not what counts. What counts is not the number of security forces but provision of information on time and logistics. There is need for cooperation in this area,” he added.
Kuol also expressed concern over the presence of the LRA off southern soil: “The LRA operates from the Democratic Republic of Congo and our forces have no mandate to enter DRC territory. This is one. The other issue is logistics for the movement of our forces. The last and most important of all is provision of information on time. Intelligence play central role and this is what counts.”
He made an appeal following a report urging the ministry of SPLA and veteran affairs by the regional parliament to increase deployment of the armed forces in Western Equatoria State.
On Wednesday Aleu Ayieny Aleu, chair of the special committee for security and public order responded to a motion previously raised by Bernado K. Martin, a member of parliament, on increased activities and operation of LRA in the area.
The security and public order report was deliberated by undersecretary of the ministry of SPLA and veteran affairs, Bior Ajang and Obote Mamur on behalf of the SPLA chief of general staff, reulsting in eight recommendations.
The committee noted that the inaccessibility of roads was leading to the formation of LRA hideouts. That it is operating in Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Darfur in Sudan. Lack of coordination and sharing of information on operation and activities of the LRA at the border areas was observed.
The comittee report also indicated that the LRA has established close relationships with unlawful groups, citing cattle raiders and nomads like Ombororo. TIt also suggested that the LRA is receiving logistical and military support from Khartoum’s Sudanese Armed Forces through its liaison office in South Darfur.
It accused the ruling National Congress Party of colloding with the LRA to destabilize the region by undermining the implementation of the CPA in regard to the preperations for the upcoming referendum.
To maintain peace in the region, the parliament recommended that the SPLA end the armed incursion of the LRA and Ombororo nomads wandering about in the region and called on the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) to make every effort to support operations of the armed forces, particularly in combating the LRA.
The parliament further urged the ministry of SPLA and veteran affairs to increase the number of the armed forces in the area, to prevent flow of illegal arms and movement, as well as to monitor allegations of the smuggling of arms.
It called for the construction of security roads in order to facilitate the quick movement of the military against illegal armed groups in the region, in particular the LRA.
The regional parliament finally called on the SPLM controlled GoSS to lead regional efforts to combat rebels, in collaboration with the Khartoum’s Government of National Unity, Uganda, Democratic of Congo and Central Africa Republic and in the hope of mediating peace with the LRA. (ST)
These young members of the Invisible Children's Organization know that no child should live in fear of being abducted, mutilated, or killed. Activists groups are trying to shed light on the destruction caused by the longest running war in Africa's history ...- - -
Reporter: Meagan O'Halloran
Email Address: meagan.ohalloran@wjhg.com
CHURCH and civic representatives from four key African countries have signed a declaration appealing for international action to stop guerrilla forces terrorising the region.- - -
About 30 community leaders made up of senior clergy and government representatives put their signature to a communiqué calling on national and international leaders to do more to prevent attacks by the Lords Resistance Army in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and the Central African Republic.
The declaration calls on the countries’ governments to work together to quell the LRA threat, demanding that further pressure on the four nations be applied by the EU, the UK, the USA and the UN.
Further articles outlined in the document include an appeal for more humanitarian support to help refugees and displaced people and there is a plea for a resumption of peace talks to bring the LRA threat to an end.
Photo: Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, South Sudan
In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, who organised the conference, stressed the continuing threat posed by the LRA.
Speaking yesterday (Tuesday, 14th September) at the end of the four-day meeting, Bishop Hiiboro underlined the need for international pressure to step up security in the region.
He told ACN: “We have been forgotten by our own government, forgotten by the international community and this means the LRA think they can do anything they like.
“Think of the number of people who have fled their homes, the number of people who have lost their lives and the number of people left as orphans.
“The whole state [of Western Equatoria] is living in panic – not just in South Sudan but in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It is just too much.”
Bishop Hiiboro said a reminder of the LRA threat came just days before the conference got underway last week when eight people were hacked to death by machetes.
A further 14 were badly wounded, some seriously, during the attack which took place in Yambio, the regional capital of Western Equatoria State where the bishop is based and where the conference was held.
Stressing the gruesome violence typical of LRA attacks, Bishop Hiiboro said: “The impact of the LRA is terrible. There are huge numbers of refugees and displaced people trying to escape attack.
“They destroy property, leave children as orphans and, with so many leaving, there are no schools or social services.”
But, underlining the limitations of a military response to the LRA threat, he said: “We have seen what happens by following the military way.
“People continue to suffer and die. We want to say that we need another option – an option for peaceful dialogue.”
A year ago, the remains of six people were discovered nailed to a tree close to Yambio in an atrocity that was likened to a crucifixion scene. Again the LRA was implicated.
Amid widespread reports pointing to LRA collusion with Sudan President Omar al Bashir’s Islamist regime in the capital, Khartoum, Bishop Hiiboro said it was unclear who was backing the insurgents.
He added: “There are people who give them weapons, food and enable them to have telephone communications.
“It is difficult to say who helps them. It is obvious that they receive significant support because they are so very well equipped.”
The LRA issue is expected to have a major bearing on the outcome of the long-awaited referendum on the possible cessation of South Sudan, due in January.
At a time of continuing fear of attacks, reports have shown that voters are likely to be swayed by the government – be it the semi-autonomous administration in the south or the Khartoum-based government of national unity – best placed to bring the LRA threat to an end.
WASHINGTON (CNS) - Two Ugandan bishops -- one Catholic and one Anglican -- traveled across Africa and the Atlantic to tell U.S. officials that regional dialogue with the Lord's Resistance Army would work better than a military option against it.- - -
"The issue is no longer the LRA and Uganda," said Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu. "The issue now is regional."
Archbishop Odama has headed the Gulu Archdiocese in northern Uganda since 1999 and, during that time, has worked to end hostilities between the Ugandan military and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, known for its brutality and especially for kidnapping children to use as soldiers and sex slaves. The LRA, once based in northern Uganda, has spread its operations to Southern Sudan, Congo and the Central African Republic.
The archbishop is president of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, an interfaith organization formed in the late 1990s to respond to the violence in northern Uganda, where the Acholi ethnic group is based. He traveled to Washington with one of the founding members of the organization, Anglican Bishop MacLeord Baker Ochola II, retired bishop of Kitgum.
Both men told Catholic News Service in mid-September that they do not oppose the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in May, but were urging U.S. officials to end the use of force in dealing with the LRA. The cited numerous occasions on which force did not work against the rebel group.
The bishops met with State Department officials, who have until November to develop a strategy for disarming the LRA. They also met with congressional leaders.
"We are afraid," Archbishop Odama told CNS. He said the LRA currently is involved in a conflict to destabilize Uganda's northern neighbor, Southern Sudan, which is scheduled to vote in January on whether to secede from Sudan.
Congo and the Central African Republic, two countries that border Southern Sudan, also have an interest in its stability, the archbishop said.
"Let us bring (their) leaders together -- the new stakeholders," he said. "We say: peaceful approach."
Bishop Ochola, whose daughter committed suicide in 1987 after being brutally attacked by the LRA, said those opposed to peace -- those who advocate continued fighting -- should also be invited to the dialogue.
He said the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative leaders have offered to mediate multiple times. In 2008, rebel leaders had begun negotiations when a Ugandan military offensive drove them into neighboring countries.
In early September, religious leaders from areas affected by the Lord's Resistance Army met in Southern Sudan to outline a path to peace. In a statement, the leaders said LRA atrocities gave "no sign whatsoever of being on the decrease."
The leaders said that in Southern Sudan, the LRA was attacking urban centers with "massive abductions, displacements and killings." They said they feared "enemies of peace" would use the LRA to prevent the secession referendum.
Since late 2008, the LRA has killed more than 2,500 civilians in Southern Sudan. About 90,000 Sudanese in Western Equatoria province have been displaced from their homes, and 25,000 refugees from Congo and Central African Republic have sought refuge in the province.
Archbishop Odama and Bishop Ochola said capturing or killing LRA leader Joseph Kony would not necessarily end the conflict, because the situation is so complex and includes splinter groups and tribal conflicts. They said adding to the complexity of the situation was that most LRA soldiers were kidnapped and are serving involuntarily.
YAMBIO, Sudan, SEPT. 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Religious and civic leaders from four nations are calling for negotiation and better coordination of international efforts to bring an end to two plus decades of terror caused by the Lord's Resistance Army.- - -
Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, in southern Sudan, organized a four-day meeting last week, which brought together some 60 representatives including delegations from Uganda, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. Muslims and non-Catholic Christians were also present.
The 46-year-old bishop leads one of the dioceses most hard-hit by the Lord's Resistance Army. The Sudan Tribune reported that at least seven of his parishes have been badly attacked by the rebel group, which is known for brutality.
Bishop Hiiboro spoke Tuesday with Aid to the Church in Need about a reminder of the LRA threat when eight people were hacked to death by machetes in Yambio just days before the religious leaders' conference got under way in that city. Another 14 were badly wounded.
"The impact of the LRA is terrible," he said. "There are huge numbers of refugees and displaced people trying to escape attack.
“They destroy property, leave children as orphans and, with so many leaving, there are no schools or social services.”
Forgotten
The bishop, who has led the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio for just over two years, contended that "[w]e have been forgotten by our own government, forgotten by the international community and this means the LRA think they can do anything they like."
“Think of the number of people who have fled their homes, the number of people who have lost their lives and the number of people left as orphans," he said. “The whole state [of Western Equatoria] is living in panic -- not just in South Sudan but in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It is just too much.”
Though Bishop Hiiboro said it is not clear who backs the army, it is clear that they are well-sponsored.
"There are people who give them weapons, food and enable them to have telephone communications," the bishop explained. "It is difficult to say who helps them. It is obvious that they receive significant support because they are so very well equipped."
Open door
A final statement with 30 signatories from the conference was released Sept. 10. The religious leaders cautioned against military "solutions," noting the dire effects of past efforts.
“The international community has so far failed to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the LRA as a regional threat, instead addressing the crisis in a piecemeal and haphazard way in the four different countries,” the report stated.
It called for collaboration from the governments of the four nations terrorized by the LRA, and urged greater international pressure from the European Union, the United States and the United Nations.
Bishop Hiiboro told the Fides agency that he is advocating a political solution, which he just recommended in a meeting with the defense minister of Uganda.
"The LRA leader, [Joseph] Kony, has sent me a letter which was delivered to various other regional and international figures -- including the U.N. secretary-general -- saying that he is willing to enter into peace talks once more," the bishop noted. “Let's not close the door on negotiations."
...Government Spokesman Omer Adam Rahma, affirmed government's preparedness for negotiations, brushing aside the movement's accusations of government's attacks on its forces in cooperation with the LRA, adding that LRA was non existent in Darfur. He said, " Nobody can believe in the existence of the LRA troops there." ...- - -
THE residual LRA rebels’ delegation to the stalled Juba peace talks has written to the secretary general of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon, appealing for the resumption of negotiations with the Government.- - -
In a September 6 letter, the LRA supporters asked the UN boss to take urgent steps to bring the peace talks back on track.
“The leadership of the LRA peace team makes an appeal to the UN secretary general for urgent action to revisit and once again attend to the peace question in Uganda so as to assist in reviving the stalled ‘Northern Uganda peace process,” a letter signed by Justine Labeja, the acting leader of the rebels peace team, stated.
The Government accused the LRA rebels of not being committed to the peace talks.
The Juba peace talks were the fourth time the Government had attempted to end the brutal northern Uganda war through peaceful means. In all attempts, the LRA leader, Joseph Kony, refused to sign the final peace agreement.
The LRA have fought an atrocious war in the north for nearly two decades, killing, maiming and raping people, and looting and torching homesteads.
During the Juba peace talks, the rebels said they were fighting marginalisation by the Government.
After the collapse of the peace talks in January 2007, the Government launched Operation Lightening Thunder on the LRA bases in the DR Congo. Several rebels were killed, captured or surrendered.
However, the rebel collaborators say the military offensive only spread war to the DRC, southern Sudan and the Central African Republic.
LRA top commanders were indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Testimony from former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) fighters who were recently captured near Yambio in Sudan’s Western Equatoria state indicates that a notorious LRA commander, Dominic Ongwen, recently crossed into Sudan from the Democratic Republic of Congo.- - -
Ongwen, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes in 2005, is part of the LRA’s top leadership, second or third in command after leader Joseph Kony. BM
A rare 3-day meeting of about thirty religious and community leaders as well as local government officials from the Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic, and Uganda has criticized the "lack of a coordinated and comprehensive strategy" to tackle the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).- - -
This came after the leaders met in Yambio town of the Western Equatoria State. The recommendations of the conference called on the UN to intervene and be deployed as quickly as possible to the region in order to halt the LRA activities.
(AFP/Khartoum) Co-ordinated action must be taken to end the long-running brutal campaign by the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, leaders from the four countries affected said yesterday.- - -
A rare three-day meeting of 30 religious and community leaders as well as local government officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), south Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Uganda criticised the “lack of a co-ordinated and comprehensive strategy” to tackle the rebels.
“The LRA is committing atrocities across very remote areas of already unstable nations,” read a joint statement following the meeting in the southern Sudanese town of Yambio, state capital of the badly affected Western Equatoria region.
Better co-ordination is needed, they warned, adding that “LRA atrocities give no sign whatsoever of being on the decrease.”
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in two decades of fighting since LRA chief Joseph Kony took up arms, initially against the Ugandan government.
Long since driven out of Uganda, the guerrillas have carved out a vast region of control in the dense forests of northeast DRC, south Sudan and CAR.
“DRC, Sudan and CAR all have internal conflicts that prevent them from sufficiently allocating their forces in a fight against the rebel group,” it added, calling on all national armies to work to boost troop deployment in affected areas.
“The international community has so far failed to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the LRA as a regional threat, instead addressing the crisis in a piecemeal and haphazard way in the four different countries,” it added.
The signatories demanded that UN peacekeepers be given a “greater capacity to deploy quickly” in response to attacks.
However, the leaders praised the Washington administration for passing a law in May, which commits it to develop a strategy by the end of November to end the rebel campaign of carnage.
The LRA’s acts of startling brutality—including murder, rape, and the forced conscription of children—have forced more than 25,000 people to flee their homes in south Sudan alone since January, the UN says.
Many thousands more have been massacred, abducted or forced from their homes in CAR and DRC by the rebels, whose chiefs are wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The leaders yesterday also called for clarification of the Ugandan army’s role, which has led the hunt for LRA leaders across Sudan, DRC and CAR, since it launched a botched offensive following the collapse of peace talks.
The December 2008 Ugandan-led attacks smashed the rebels’ jungle hideouts in northeast DRC, but analysts suggest the LRA was tipped off and most fighters escaped beforehand, launching reprisal raids across a wide area as they fled.
(KHARTOUM) - Coordinated action must be taken to end the long-running brutal campaign by the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, leaders from the four countries affected said on Saturday.- - -
A rare three-day meeting of 30 religious and community leaders as well as local government officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), south Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Uganda criticised the "lack of a coordinated and comprehensive strategy" to tackle the rebels.
"The LRA is committing atrocities across very remote areas of already unstable nations," read a joint statement following the meeting in the southern Sudanese town of Yambio, state capital of the badly affected Western Equatoria region.
Better coordination is needed, they warned, adding that "LRA atrocities give no sign whatsoever of being on the decrease."
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in two decades of fighting since LRA chief Joseph Kony took up arms, initially against the Ugandan government.
Long since driven out of Uganda, the guerrillas have carved out a vast region of control in the dense forests of northeast DRC, south Sudan and CAR.
"DRC, Sudan and CAR all have internal conflicts that prevent them from sufficiently allocating their forces in a fight against the rebel group," it added, calling on all national armies to work to boost troop deployment in affected areas.
"The international community has so far failed to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the LRA as a regional threat, instead addressing the crisis in a piecemeal and haphazard way in the four different countries," it added.
The signatories demanded that UN peacekeepers be given a "greater capacity to deploy quickly" in response to attacks.
However, the leaders praised the Washington administration for passing a law in May, which commits it to develop a strategy by the end of November to end the rebel campaign of carnage.
The LRA's acts of startling brutality -- including murder, rape, and the forced conscription of children -- have forced more than 25,000 people to flee their homes in south Sudan alone since January, the United Nations says.
Many thousands more have been massacred, abducted or forced from their homes in CAR and DRC by the rebels, whose chiefs are wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The leaders on Saturday also called for clarification of the Ugandan army's role, which has led the hunt for LRA leaders across Sudan, DRC and CAR, since it launched a botched offensive following the collapse of peace talks.
The December 2008 Ugandan-led attacks smashed the rebels' jungle hideouts in northeast DRC, but analysts suggest the LRA was tipped off and most fighters escaped beforehand, launching reprisal raids across a wide area as they fled.
The religious leaders on Saturday insisted that the "preferred sustainable solution is a negotiated settlement" of the LRA crisis "after decades of failed military interventions."
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Dominic Ongwen -- the LRA's second or third in command -- has moved from DRC back to south Sudan, according to testimonies of former fighters collected by the Washington-based Enough pressure group.
Ongwen's reported move is "worrying", it said, with south Sudan approaching a historic vote due in January on its potential full independence.
"Sudan is preparing for a very important referendum early next year, and the LRA has a proven record of destabilising entire regions with few soldiers," said the Enough report, released on Wednesday.
Northern Sudan has been accused of employing rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to unsettle southern Sudan and the Darfur region ahead of the south’s independence referendum scheduled for January 9, 2011. But an official from the LRA, which has embarked on a mass recruitment, has debunked the claims and suggested that they are rather seeking a peace deal with the region.- - -
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Darfur rebel group said on Thursday it was attacked by Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army guerrillas in Sudan's west.- - -
"A group of LRA attacked our forces in Dafak in South Darfur yesterday," Haydar Galucuma Ateem, vice president of the Darfur rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), told Reuters from Qatar-based peace talks.
South Sudan, which fought decades of civil war against the north, accuses the northern government of arming the LRA to destabilise the semi-autonomous region ahead of a January 9, 2011 referendum which most believe will result in a vote for independence.
Known for their abduction of child soldiers and extreme brutality, the LRA sought refuge in neighbouring south Sudan during the civil war.
Kampala accused Sudan's central government in Khartoum of providing support to the LRA, a charge Khartoum denies.
After a 2005 north-south peace deal, which did not include a separate conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, LRA rebels went on the run and south Sudan said some had moved towards Darfur to receive support from Khartoum there.
South Sudan's government says it cut off Khartoum's supply lines to the LRA after the 2005 accord so the Ugandan rebels moved north to Khartoum-controlled territory in Darfur to get resupplied.
Ateem said two small reconnaissance groups of about 20 young LRA rebels carrying light arms shot and killed one LJM soldier before retreating into dense forest in remote South Darfur.
"Their language was one of the ways we knew they were LRA," he said, adding the Ugandan guerrillas in the past year had often crossed the remote and porous border between South Darfur and the Central African Republic.
"They probably have a relationship with the government of Sudan," Ateem said. "Many of the young people in the area say they are arming the LRA -- the LRA first entered South Darfur about a year ago."
The International Criminal Court issued its first arrest warrants for LRA commanders, whose tactics include mutilating their victims by cutting off their lips and ears.
Groups of LRA soldiers also frequently attack south Sudanese villages near the border with the lawless Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations and south Sudan government.
- - -
Survivors of the 1995 Atyak massacre repairing the monument built for the 250 people who were killed by the LRA
In April 1995, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels led by Vincent Otti attacked Atyak township in the morning and massacred more than 250 civilians, leaving behind about 80 survivors and 100 orphans.
The survivors have appealed to the President to fund the building of a big multipurpose hall and library in Atyak township in memory of the deceased.
They also requested the Government and other development partners to build a bigger monument with a recreation centre across Ayugi River where the bloodbath occurred.
Jacob Nokrac, the chairman of the Atyak Survivors’ Association, on Tuesday observed that the Government helped the injured and bereaved families of the July 11 bomb blasts in Kampala.
“We appeal to the Government to provide us with livestock for income generation and at least sh5m as a revolving fund for the survivors,” he said.
Nokrac also called for grinding mills to process their produce. He said some survivors had bomb fragments in their bodies and needed to be operated upon.
Nokrac disclosed that the survivors had formed a saving and loan association where each member saves between sh1,000-5,000 every week. He said the orphans needed school fees.
Betty Acan, 31, a survivor, said she could not continue with education because her brother who used to pay her school fees was killed in the massacre.
The Atyak sub-county chairman, John Bosco Ocan, called on the Government to take over the running of Lwani Memorial Community Secondary School which was built by the community in memory of those massacred by the rebels.
The New Vision, Uganda, Monday, 06 September 2010: A former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander, Thomas Kwoyelo, has been charged and committed to the War Crimes Court to face trial. Kwoyelo, 39, appeared before Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate Vincent Mugabo, who did not allow him to plead to the charges. He becomes the first suspect to be charged with offences relating to war crimes.
