afrol News, 29 August - United States administration has slapped Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army chief, Joseph Kony, with new sanctions in reaction to his rejection to sign a peace deal since last April.

Mr Kony refused to ink a comprehensive peace deal brokered by southern Sudan government with Uganda asking for suspension of an arrest warrant issued by International Criminal Court against him.

Although LRA was already considered a terrorist group by US, there has never been any sanction imposed on its leader who has been fighting Uganda government for the past two decades.

In a brief statement, US Treasury Department has announced its new addition, Mr Kony, to its list of specially designated global terrorists, a designation that carries financial and other penalties.

However, it was uncertain if Mr Kony whose whereabouts in the jungles of eastern Congo are unclear, has any assets that might be affected by the order.

His rebels have become infamous for raping children and using them as soldiers. Kony and several top aides have been indicted on war crimes and other charges by the International Criminal Court.

Mr Kony and two of his top deputies are wanted by the ICC for war crimes including rape, murder and abduction of children during their two-decade insurgency. Fearing arrest, they have never attended long-running talks in Juba, instead staying hidden in the lawless wilderness of Garamba Forest in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

For the past two years, LRA and Ugandan government have been engaged in peace talks but negotiations have suffered numerous breakdowns. Mr Kony, fearing arrest, has been in hiding since 2006. He refused to appear at an April ceremony at which a peace deal was to have been signed.

On Wednesday, DRC said it will take military action against Uganda's rebel army, LRA, in the northeast of its territory.

"The proportion of the Ugandan rebel force in northeastern province of Orientale has made big threats to local security and the peace of the central region of Africa," General Kifua, commander of DRC's 9th military area said.

UN peacekeepers and DRC soldiers were jointly deployed in eastern provinces during the past week, after new attacks from LRA. Last Friday, rebels requested International Criminal Court to drop charges against their elusive leader Joseph Kony before the final ceasefire could be signed.

Kony's 22-year rebellion has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted 2 million more in northern Uganda and also destabilised neighbouring parts of southern Sudan and eastern Congo.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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