‘Congo UPC Rebels In Nebbi’
Feb 17, 2003
FORMER Second Division UPDF commander Col. Peter Kerim has said Thomas Lubanga's rebel group, the Union for Patriotic Congolese (upc), was destablising Uganda.
By Emmy Allio
FORMER Second Division UPDF commander Col. Peter Kerim has said Thomas Lubanga's rebel group, the Union for Patriotic Congolese (upc), was destablising Uganda.
He blamed the rebels for causing confusion inside Nebbi district and along the Uganda-Congo border.
Kerim denied allegations by Lubanga that he has been recruiting and training people to fight the UPC administration.
“I must not be used as a scapegoat by Lubanga who is responsible for the problems in Ituri. I am not a recruiting officer. My duty is to see that peace prevails in Nebbi and at the border,†Kerim said.
At least 12 people were killed, 1,000 huts burnt down and over 3,000 people displaced last week in Nebbi and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Alur and Kebu ethnic groups attacked the ethnic Lendu communities.
Lubanga told the press on Tuesday that Kerim was “fomenting trouble†in Ituri province by recruiting the Lendu to fight the Hema.
Kerim was defended by Lubanga's political opponents, the Front for Integration and Peace in Ituri (FIPI). Thomas Onencan, one of the three presidents of FIPI, said Kerim is remembered in Congo for trying to reconcile warring parties.
“Tribute must be paid where it is due. Kerim is still trying to end the Hema-Lendu conflict through dialogue,†Onencan said..
Ends
FORMER Second Division UPDF commander Col. Peter Kerim has said Thomas Lubanga's rebel group, the Union for Patriotic Congolese (upc), was destablising Uganda.
He blamed the rebels for causing confusion inside Nebbi district and along the Uganda-Congo border.
Kerim denied allegations by Lubanga that he has been recruiting and training people to fight the UPC administration.
“I must not be used as a scapegoat by Lubanga who is responsible for the problems in Ituri. I am not a recruiting officer. My duty is to see that peace prevails in Nebbi and at the border,†Kerim said.
At least 12 people were killed, 1,000 huts burnt down and over 3,000 people displaced last week in Nebbi and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo when the Alur and Kebu ethnic groups attacked the ethnic Lendu communities.
Lubanga told the press on Tuesday that Kerim was “fomenting trouble†in Ituri province by recruiting the Lendu to fight the Hema.
Kerim was defended by Lubanga's political opponents, the Front for Integration and Peace in Ituri (FIPI). Thomas Onencan, one of the three presidents of FIPI, said Kerim is remembered in Congo for trying to reconcile warring parties.
“Tribute must be paid where it is due. Kerim is still trying to end the Hema-Lendu conflict through dialogue,†Onencan said..
Ends