Uganda: Rebels Have Their Own Rebellion

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November 2, 2007: Uganda is buzzing with a rumor that two of the LRA's top commanders have had a falling out. The LRA's top leader, Joseph Kony, is supposed to have had a major disagreement with LRA deputy commander Vincent Otti. Kony is believed hiding out at an LRA base in the Congo's Garamba National Park (northeast Congo). The LRA has split into factions before. Some of the splinters were quite tiny – a handful of people. However, Kony and Otti are the two political powerhouses in the LRA. A rift between them is politically significant and could affect the peace negotiations. It's also believed that a pro-Otti faction and a pro-Kony faction engaged in a firefight on October 10. Over 30 people were allegedly slain in the fight.

October 29, 2007: The EU, Canada, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden have contributed $7.7 million to help pay for the costs of the peace talks between Uganda and the LRA. The money will go into the Juba Initiative Fund, which was established last summer to support the peace process. The UN will handle disbursement of the funds.

October 23, 2007: Opiyo Makasi, a senior commander in the LRA, surrendered to UN peacekeepers in the Congo. The UN confirmed the surrender. Makasi was identified as the LRA's chief of operations and logistics. Makasi surrendered in the Congo's Orientale province. Makasi is not one of the LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court.

October 22, 2007: Some 8,000 Congolese fled across the Uganda-Congo border into Uganda to escape attacks by militiamen under the command of dissident Congolese general Laurent Nkunda.

October 18, 2007: Senior army commanders met with representatives of the UN's MONUC Congo peacekeeping force to discuss how to "dislodge" rebel groups operating along the Congo-Uganda border. Ugandan specifically mentioned the LRA (Lords Resistance Army). The Ugandan military statement describing the meeting used the phrase "joint operations" to describe possible Ugandan Army and Congolese military operations against rebel groups.

 

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