Kony hiding in Darfur, says army
THE elusive Lord’s Resistance Army rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has crossed into the Darfur region of Sudan, the Ugandan army said yesterday.
By Barbara Among
and Agencies          Â
THE elusive Lord’s Resistance Army rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has crossed into the Darfur region of Sudan, the Ugandan army said yesterday.
“He is in Darfur, he crossed two weeks ago into southern Darfur,†said army spokesperson Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) reported on Wednesday that Kony is believed to be in Darfur, where an attack took place on September 2.
ICG said Darfuri rebels from the Liberation and Justice Movement also reported that Kony was in Darfur.
“That seems to make sense with what the Ugandan army was saying. The pattern of attacks in the region and in northern CAR (Central Africa Republic) suggests it’s accurate,†ICG analyst Ned Dalby told AFP.
Last Sunday, LRA elements attacked Birao, the main town in the extreme north of the CAR, and kidnapped several people, according to local authorities.
“In August this year, Kony and his second-in-command Okot Odhiambo led 200 rebels through northeast CAR and across the border into south Darfur,†Dalby said.
The Ugandan army deployed in CAR in 2009 at the end of Operation Lightning Thunder in the DR Congo’s Garamba forest. The operation failed to capture Kony or finish off the LRA, and then crossed into CAR.
Uganda does not have permission from Sudan to follow Kony into Darfur, Dalby explained.
In 2000, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir used the LRA as a proxy force against the south Sudanese rebellion.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Kony and his top commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. LRA is accused of massacres, mutilation, using child soldiers and taking girls as sex slaves.
There are reports that a group of some 60 LRA rebels moved into the north of CAR from Ouanda Djalle, the scene of an attack on September 5, before heading towards Sudan, the ICG analyst said.
“This group was led by Otto Agweng in charge of Kony’s bodyguards. That again would confirm the presence of Kony in the area,†Dalby said.
“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 told AFP at the African Union conference in the capital Bangui.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday, was attended by representatives of other countries affected by LRA activity.
They included CAR, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan - all affected by the rebel group founded by Joseph Kony.
The LRA first appeared in 1988 in northern Uganda. Since 2005, it has switched its base of operations to the DR Congo, south Sudan and the northeast of CAR.
and Agencies          Â
THE elusive Lord’s Resistance Army rebel leader, Joseph Kony, has crossed into the Darfur region of Sudan, the Ugandan army said yesterday.
“He is in Darfur, he crossed two weeks ago into southern Darfur,†said army spokesperson Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) reported on Wednesday that Kony is believed to be in Darfur, where an attack took place on September 2.
ICG said Darfuri rebels from the Liberation and Justice Movement also reported that Kony was in Darfur.
“That seems to make sense with what the Ugandan army was saying. The pattern of attacks in the region and in northern CAR (Central Africa Republic) suggests it’s accurate,†ICG analyst Ned Dalby told AFP.
Last Sunday, LRA elements attacked Birao, the main town in the extreme north of the CAR, and kidnapped several people, according to local authorities.
“In August this year, Kony and his second-in-command Okot Odhiambo led 200 rebels through northeast CAR and across the border into south Darfur,†Dalby said.
The Ugandan army deployed in CAR in 2009 at the end of Operation Lightning Thunder in the DR Congo’s Garamba forest. The operation failed to capture Kony or finish off the LRA, and then crossed into CAR.
Uganda does not have permission from Sudan to follow Kony into Darfur, Dalby explained.
In 2000, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir used the LRA as a proxy force against the south Sudanese rebellion.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Kony and his top commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. LRA is accused of massacres, mutilation, using child soldiers and taking girls as sex slaves.
There are reports that a group of some 60 LRA rebels moved into the north of CAR from Ouanda Djalle, the scene of an attack on September 5, before heading towards Sudan, the ICG analyst said.
“This group was led by Otto Agweng in charge of Kony’s bodyguards. That again would confirm the presence of Kony in the area,†Dalby said.
“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 told AFP at the African Union conference in the capital Bangui.
The meeting, which began on Wednesday, was attended by representatives of other countries affected by LRA activity.
They included CAR, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan - all affected by the rebel group founded by Joseph Kony.
The LRA first appeared in 1988 in northern Uganda. Since 2005, it has switched its base of operations to the DR Congo, south Sudan and the northeast of CAR.