Uganda on Thursday sought approval from its neighbours to send troops into the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to hunt members of a rebel force seeking refuge there, Foreign Minister Sam Kuteesa said.
Addressing the opening of an African Great Lakes security conference here, Kuteesa proposed the creation of a joint command under which Ugandan and DRC troops in cooperation with the United Nations would track down notorious Lord Resistance’s Army (LRA) fighters.
”The LRA is a terrorist organisation which has been operating out of Sudan for the last 10 years, now they are moving into DRC which brings a new dynamic,” Kuteesa said.
”In view of this… we recommend the idea of joint operations between Uganda and DRC armed forces with the involvement of Monuc to deal with this group,” he said, referring to the UN peacekeeping operation in the DRC.
”We should coordinate first and then operate jointly because of our accumulated knowledge and experience with the LRA,” Kuteesa said.
”Without our involvement, this problem will not be solved.” – Sapa-AFP