December 25, 2007: The government is trying
to get Congo to cooperate in dealing with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), if
the Uganda-LRA peace process completely stalled. Talking in public about this
"what if" serves a political purpose, ie, to prod Kony into returning to peace
negotiations. Kony remains at an LRA base inside the Congo. He has objected to
a January 31, 2008 deadline the Congolese government has given the LRA to leave
its territory. The LRA says the Congolese government is acting on behalf of the
Ugandan government to violate the cessation of hostilities agreement.
December 22, 2007: New rumors continue
to appear regarding the disappearance and apparent death of LRA deputy
commander Vincent Otti. The latest is that Otti arrived at an LRA base in the
Congo sometime in October. He was arrested then executed by the personal guards of LRA commander
Joseph Kony. The charge against him was "spying."
Uganda said that its Ugandan security
personnel had arrested 20 Rwandans who are suspected of belonging to a Rwandan
Hutu militia force operating in the eastern Congo. The men were found at a
refugee camp inside Uganda. Earlier this year Uganda reached an agreement with
the Congo to help police rebel and militia activity in the Uganda-Rwanda-Congo
border area.
December 17, 2007: An Ugandan religious
leader belonging to the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) said that an LRA
negotiating team in Kampala had promised to release abducted women and children
as a "sign of the LRA's commitment to peace." No one has an accurate number of
how many abductees the LRA still holds, though the figure is thought to be
several hundred.
December 15, 2007: Uganda and Congo
agreed to reestablish full diplomatic relations in 2008. Congo and Uganda have
diplomatic contacts on a daily basis, but formal, full relations were broken
during the Congo civil war because Uganda was supporting insurgent groups,
primarily in the Congo's Ituri province. The Congo also accuses Uganda of
"plundering" Congolese natural resources.
