Tuesday, October 04, 2005

UN airlifts Congo troops to deal with Uganda's LRA rebels

The U.N. has airlifted several hundred Congo government soldiers to a remote corner of the country to deal with heavily armed Ugandan LRA rebels who have entered and refuse to disarm, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday.

The helicopters flew the troops to Aba, an isolated town near the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern border with Uganda and Sudan, U.N. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Provendier said in Kinshasa.

Full report Kinshasa, Oct 4 (Reuters)

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2 comments:

BRE said...

Well, if Uganda's Museveni and the UPDF are serious about ending the conflict with Joseph Kony's LRA militias, then here is his chance.

Airlift support from MONUC and ground troops moving into the area quickly by road, the LRA fighters are unfamiliar with the terrain up there, and cooperation from the locals who are tired of the fighting and terror in their neck of the woods.

The Ugandans come in from the top and the Congolese push from the bottom, should be a snap for well-trained military troops. I feel sorry for the child soldiers of the LRA though, as they are mainly forced into doing what they do. If fighting breaks out it will be a massacre, but I'm not sure which side would win.

The government forces on all sides need to show restraint and take their time once the LRA insurgents are surrounded, as patience would save a lot of the child soldiers lives. Let's see what happens.

Ingrid J. Jones said...

Bill, your comment arrived via email a few seconds after a posted a reply to your last comment in previous post.

Apart from the involvement of leaders in Uganda and DR Congo there is a lot of cooperation going on behind the scenes with the U.S., Sudan and probably every other interested party who wants to eliminate terrorist organisations and stop Africa [particularly East Africa] from becoming a haven for terrorist camps, training and recruitment.

Hope you get a chance to read my comment on the Hot Zone blog at Yahoo.