Global Policy Forum

By Barbara Among

The Uganda People's Defence Forces has warned it will invade the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and uproot the remnants of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army if the ongoing peace talks collapse.

"If they (LRA) make the mistake of not taking advantage of the peace talks, Uganda will go to DRC with or without the government's authority," the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Aronda Nyakirima, told The EastAfrican. Talks to end the 20-year war in northern Uganda have been going on for several weeks in Juba, Southern Sudan, under the mediation of Riek Machar, the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan.

One of the sticking points is a demand by the LRA rebels that the government declares a ceasefire before the talks continue. But the government, which wants a ceasefire after the peace deal, has continued with its military operations and last week killed a senior LRA commander, Raska Lukwiya. He was one of five rebels, including LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy, Vincent Otti, indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Gen Aronda told The EastAfrican that if the rebels, now based in the Garamba National Park in northeastern DRC attack Uganda, the UPDF will follow them across the border, if need be. President Yoweri Museveni has given the rebels a September 12 deadline to sign a peace deal and the army has declared it will go out on a full offensive if no deal is signed by that date. "The agreement between Uganda and Khartoum still stands and UPDF will continue to operate from its bases in Southern Sudan until a peace deal is concluded," said Gen Nyakirima.

A protocol, signed in 2002 between the governments of Kampala and Khartoum, to allow the UPDF to operate beyond the red line in Southern Sudan against the LRA was renewed in March this year. The UPDF says the presence of Kony and his army in the DRC poses a threat to Uganda's security. It said that intelligence reports show that the rebels outside the country plan to regroup and attack Uganda. Uganda's State Minister for Defence, Ruth Nankabirwa, said, "The UPDF does not take lightly the warning by the LRA command and we are also saying they should prepare for a surprise."

During a meeting two weeks ago with leaders from the war-torn areas of north and eastern Uganda, Kony warned that his group was still militarily strong and could take on the Ugandan army if the peace talks failed.

"The LRA delegation's insistence on a ceasefire declaration by both parties was just to help them regroup, recruit and get a fresh impetus," said Lt Chris Magezi, UPDF's northern Uganda spokesperson. "They are planning to get into Uganda through the West Nile frontiers but if they do that, they will regret it as the president made it clear that we shall pursue them to their base."

Drani Dradriga, Yumbe Resident District Commissioner, said he had information on the LRA's planned attack. "It is not anything new, they have been trying to get in touch with former rebel fighters in the West Nile region, appealing to their sentiments," said Dradriga.

Gen Nyakirima said Uganda has three options if the ongoing talks failed - attacking the LRA from its base in Garamba, invite the UN Security Council to help Uganda deal with the issue, or form a joint armed force with Sudan and DRC to flush out the rebels. Last week, a senior UN official said the LRA rebels will have to face trial, a position that flies in the face of Uganda's promise to ignore the ICC warrants of arrest, at least in the short-term, in the interests of peace in the country.

The Security Council has the power to suspend investigations in the interests of international peace and security. It also has powers to evoke Chapter Seven of its charter when responding to actions that are a threat to peace and acts of aggression using whatever means deemed appropriate, including and not limited to force.

During a meeting between Ugandan security officials and their counterparts from DRC in Kampala last month, Kinshasa agreed to launch an offensive against LRA after the July 30 elections. Kinshasa last year rejected a proposal by Uganda to redeploy its troops in DRC to hunt down the LRA rebels as well as other Ugandan rebels based there. Uganda invaded DR Congo in 1998 to root out rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces who were based in the east of the country.

The Congolese are reluctant to have foreign troops re-enter their country after Uganda and Rwanda's incursion led to a drawn out war involving six countries and left armed militias operating in large parts of the country. The LRA fled to Garamba in September last year, after UPDF attacked several of its bases in Southern Sudan.

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