afrol News, 12 December - The governments of both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have lost patience over the failure of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader and founder to consent to lasting peace process, with the DRC giving Joseph Kony to leave its Eastern Garamba Park on or before 31 January 2008.

Senior government officials of both countries had taken the decision at the recent Great Lakes Summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. At the summit, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said her country would release US $1.6 million for the de-mobilization, disarmament and re-integration of the LRA rebels.

US development agency [USAID] also pledged to contribute US $300,000 for the Juba talks.

Congolese officials expressed their readiness to attack Kony in their territory if he continues to shun to the Juba talks. Other Congo-based Ugandan rebels have also been issued similar ultimatum.

In recent times, Kony has been accused of killing his senior commanders he had broken ranks with. This had caused mass desertation within the rebel movement that claims to be safeguarding Ten Commandments of God.

But Uganda's Gulu District Commissioner of Gulu, Col Walter Ochora, advised Kony to resort to a peaceful solution of the internal fracas instead of killing senior commanders.

Ochora addressed the press in his office on his visit to DRC to receive a group of LRA defectors. He said the killing of Vincent Otti [the former LRA deputy Commander] had not only shocked the movement's fighters, but it is also causing the escalating the internal squabbles.

"The killing of LRA's second in command, Vincent Otti, on orders of his Chairman Joseph Kony sent shock waves within the camps of the LRA," Ochora said. "A good number of them have escaped. I am about to go back to eastern Congo to lead more LRA fighters to the UN peacekeeping mission."

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo had established three transit camps in Ndungu, Bunia and Goma so that they could receive the LRA defectors.

About 23 deserted LRA fighters have also fled to the Central African Republic border town of Kilwa.

The total number of fleeing rebels - including their wives and children stands at about 800.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories