Ultimatum for rebel group
2005-09-27 21:50
Kampala - The Ugandan military said on Tuesday that a dormant rebel group allegedly hiding in the east of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had been given an ultimatum to surrender by week's end or face attack.
Amid concerns over the presence of rebel fighters from Uganda's notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the same volatile region, the army said members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) would be hit unless they turned themselves in by Friday.
Army spokesperson Shaban Bantariza said any such operations would be carried out by the DRC military and UN peacekeepers at the request of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni but declined to rule out Ugandan intervention if they did not.
"If the two fail to do that they are at liberty to seek help from anywhere in the world" to oust the ADF from the eastern DRC, Bantariza said.
More than just refugees
His comments followed the publication on Tuesday by the state-run New Vision newspaper of an interview with Ugandan army commander Lieutenant General Aronda Nyakairima who said Museveni had personally ordered the ultimatum.
"The president has given (the rebels) a deadline of September 30 to surrender or be attacked," Nyakairima was quoted as saying. "The attacking forces will be DRC integrated forces, not even us."
"We have been telling the Congolese authorities these guys aren't just refugees but people with military structures, armed and recruiting with the mission of resuming military training," he said.
The ADF sprang up in 1996 by attacking areas in western Uganda as part of an effort to topple Museveni's government and its presence was used as justification for Uganda's deployment of troops into the former Zaire.
It was believed to be largely defunct but earlier this year officials in Kampala alleged the group had reformed with about 1 000 fighters and set up bases in three parts of the eastern DRC.
Bantariza and Nyakairima both said members of the ADF were still eligible for an amnesty if they surrendered by the deadline, which they maintained had been agreed upon by Kampala, Kinshasa and the UN mission in the DRC known as MONUC.
- SAPA