Showing posts with label Faradje. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faradje. Show all posts

Friday, November 06, 2009

Leading LRA rebel commander Charles Arop surrenders to Ugandan army?

Report from Sudan Tribune by Richard Ruati Friday 6 November 2009:
Leading LRA rebel commander surrenders to Ugandan army
November 5, 2009 (KAMPALA) — Lt Col Charles Arop, a leading Ugandan LRA rebels (the Army of the Lord’s Resistance), has decided to surrender himself to the Ugandan army. Arop is responsible for a bloodbath perpetrated on Christmas Day last year in Faradje in the DRC during which at least 143 people have died.

He was left with only one rebel fighter, so he had little choice," a spokesman of the UPDF, LT Col Felix Kulayigye has said on Thursday. The Army spokesperson spoke to Sudan Tribune via telephone hookup from Kampala. Not a long time ago, Arop commanded an army of 100 rebel fighters, most of them having been decimated after actions from the UPDF.

Kulayigye revealed that “the surrender of Arop took place near Faradje, adding that his surrender is very significant given the fact he was Commander within Kony units, however this has degenerated and declined the commanding chain of LRA.”

He added that, “the surrender of Arop is fortunately making the arrest of Kony the next target of UPDF.”

Asked whether how many Kony fighters are still in the jungles, he said at moment the Ugandan Army doesn’t know, however Kony is believed to be in isolation in Central Africa Republic.”

Lt Col Felix dismissed future peace negotiations with LRA, saying that, “the only options left for Kony are to capture or kill him, except if Kony signs the negotiated agreement.

He dismissed the media reports that, “the Operation Light Thunder is a failure,” he tabled the rescue of 450 abductees and the capture of 20 LRA officers as a success, he also said there are no LRA rebels in DR Congo anymore.

Speaking to local journalist of Yambio FM in Western Equatoria, Lt Col Charles Arop said that, he was arrested in 1994 from Northern Uganda; he has been the immediate operation commander of Joseph Kony.

Arop appealed to his former LRA colleagues those still close to Joseph Kony to put down their guns and come out of the jungles, he directed his appeal mainly to his former closed commanders like Dominic Okello and Smart, that by the mercy of God they should come back home “the children of Acholi have finished in the bush.”

He advised the remaining LRA soldiers in the bush not to fear to hand themselves in to the UPDF.

He further appealed to Joseph Kony himself to come out open, as the war has claimed the lives of innocent civilians and displaced many others.

The Ugandan Army spokesperson said that, Arop may decide to remain as civilian or politician, however if at all he committed any crime against humanity, legal actions shall be taken against him by a competent law institution.

He also revealed that, since the Light Thunder Operations started last December only 12 Ugandans armies have lost their lives. The Ugandan army hunts down LRA fighters in the DRC, Central African Republic and Southern Sudan. Since the attacks of the army on the LRA at the end of last year, this movement has dispersed in small units.
Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch

Monday, August 17, 2009

Deadly attack Aug 12th by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area of east of DR Congo

From UN News Centre, Saturday, 15 August 2009:
UN blue helmets provide help in wake of deadly attack in east of DR Congo
The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is providing medical assistance to the victims of a deadly attack by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area in the strife-torn east of the country.

Media reports say at least 16 people were killed during Wednesday's attack, which took place in the remote village of Mpama in North Kivu province, close to the mines at Biseye. Mining is a lucrative source of income in the impoverished region, which continues to be beset by outbreaks of fighting involving militia groups and the army.

Troops from the Congolese army (FARDC) stationed nearby were dispatched to find the militiamen, but they had already fled, according to a press statement issued today by the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.

Alan Doss, the head of MONUC and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, denounced the attack.

“Nothing can justify these crimes committed by the armed groups that strike at civilians,” Mr. Doss said.

MONUC established a medical assistance team in the nearby town of Ishenga to treat the injured, with some others evacuated to other centres. The blue helmets have also stepped up their patrols in the Walikale-Biseye area.
(Hat tip: ISRIA)- - -

MONUC in DR Congo

From MONUC Kinshasa, Friday, 14 August 2009:
MONUC Blue Helmets keeping the peace in Orientale province
MONUC’s Blue Helmets, stationed in Orientale province in northeastern DRC continue to work hard in the troubled districts of Haut Uele and Ituri, to keep the peace, protect the population and assist the DRC Armed Forces against the activities of the LRA rebels in Haut Uele and residual armed groups in Ituri.

In Haut Uele, the MONUC Moroccan contingent, comprising of 290 Blue Helmets, are working in the areas of Dungu, Duru and Faradje to protect the civilian population. These peacekeepers live in tents in the middle of the jungle with no infrastructure, in what MONUC Military Spokesman Jean Paul Dietrich described as “the most difficult living conditions in the mission.”

Other tasks include patrols and the escorting of humanitarian food convoys, up to a 50km radius outside of Dungu.

Through Operation Rudia II, MONUC is providing assistance to a large part of the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) based in Dungu territory, with rations, transport and medical evacuations.

A MONUC Indonesian engineering company is currently working on the Dungu-Duru road, and once completed it will greatly improve the transport network in the area.

It will also allow humanitarian convoys greater access to the interior, where an estimated 181,000 people are displaced and in need of assistance due to the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

In the past week, the LRA have launched new sporadic attacks in areas close to the Central African Republic border, in an apparent attempt to escape the military pressure being exerted on them.

In Ituri, over 3,500 Blue Helmets are working to pacify the district, which has experienced residual militia activity by groups such as the “Front de RĂ©sistance Patriotique en Ituri” (FRPI) and the “Front Populaire pour la Justice au Congo” (FPJC). According to OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 176,000 people are still displaced in the district.

The joint operation “Iron Stone” is currently in progress, with MONUC forces assisting the FARDC in the planning of military operations. MONUC is also assisting the FARDC with rations, transport, fire support and medical evacuations.

In the past week, the FARDC have attacked militia position in the Poto Poto valley, and are still engaged in the consolidation of operations in the south of Irumu territory. In recent joint operations against the FRPI and the FPJC, 11 militiamen were killed and many others fled.