'Troops will protect civilians'
2008-12-31 16:24
Kampala - Three African nations are deploying troops to remote eastern Congo after reports that Ugandan rebels killed more than 400 people in a series of massacres since Christmas, officials said on Wednesday.
A Catholic charity, Caritas, cited reports by its staff in the region that the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army has killed hundreds of people since December 25.
The rebels and the Ugandan government have accused each other of being behind recent attacks in the remote area of Congo, where the rebels have bases.
"We have deployed troops in most of the villages we suspect that can be attacked by LRA rebels," said Ugandan Captain Chris Magezi. He is a spokesperson for the coordinated forces of Uganda, Congo and southern Sudan, who launched an offensive this month to root out the rebels.
"We will guard civilian settlements, while another force pursues the rebels," Magezi said.
Calls to the LRA were not immediately returned.
Caritas' allegations are the latest reports of attacks in the area near where the offensive has been taking place.
On Monday, officials and witnesses said attackers had hacked to death scores of people who sought refuge at a Catholic church the day after Christmas. The United Nations said the rebels had killed a total of 189 people in three villages in the area on two recent days.
The Lord's Resistance Army has waged one of Africa's longest and most brutal wars for the last two decades. In the past, aid and rights groups have accused the rebels of cutting off the lips of civilians and forcing thousands of children to serve as soldiers or sex slaves.
The conflict has spilled out of northern Uganda and into Sudan and Congo.
Congo suffered back-to-back civil wars from 1996 to 2002 that drew in neighbouring countries in what became a rush to plunder Congo's massive mineral wealth.
Currently, long-running peace talks between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government have stalled.
Rebel leaders have sought guarantees they will not be arrested under international warrants. The rebels' elusive leader, Joseph Kony, and other top members are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- AP