Monitor: LRA rebels led by Kony have crossed into Central African Republic
The Monitor reports today that LRA leader Joseph Kony and a group of LRA rebels have crossed into southeastern Central African Republic (CAR). Ugandan authorities said on Friday that the CAR government and French military forces in CAR confirmed Kony’s presence near the small town of Obo. Last month hundreds of LRA rebels were seen moving towards CAR, but Kony was believed to have remained in his Garamba camp in DR Congo. If true, Kony’s move to CAR raises further doubts that he is willing to sign the final peace agreement being negotiated in Juba. David Matsanga, the head of the LRA negotiating team in Juba, called the allegations that Kony had shifted camp “total rubbish.”
CAR’s President Bozize has agreed to cooperate closely with the Ugandan government regarding the LRA. However, the CAR government is very weak, with widespread insecurity in northwestern CAR, while a European peacekeeping force is deploying in the northeastern part of the country in coming weeks. The area around Kony’s alleged new camp in southeastern CAR is controlled by the rebel Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD), which allegedly has links with the Government of Sudan – raising fears that the LRA hopes to rejuvenate its own historical ties with Khartoum. CAR is a signatory to the Rome Statue governing the ICC, and the world court is currently investigating crimes committed there. Read more at The Monitor.
CAR’s President Bozize has agreed to cooperate closely with the Ugandan government regarding the LRA. However, the CAR government is very weak, with widespread insecurity in northwestern CAR, while a European peacekeeping force is deploying in the northeastern part of the country in coming weeks. The area around Kony’s alleged new camp in southeastern CAR is controlled by the rebel Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD), which allegedly has links with the Government of Sudan – raising fears that the LRA hopes to rejuvenate its own historical ties with Khartoum. CAR is a signatory to the Rome Statue governing the ICC, and the world court is currently investigating crimes committed there. Read more at The Monitor.