Dec 30 2008
Ugandan Rebels Massacre Civilians in the Congo
Reports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) state that Ugandan rebel troops massacred 15 villagers in the town of Faradje in the northeast of the country. A joint military operation has been launched in an effort to curtail the violence. United Nations peacekeepers with support from DRC, Ugandan and Sudanese armies moved into a remote national park in search of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
The UN Security Council condemned the rebels on December 22. Air attacks against their bases have caused the army to scatter to different areas of the DRC. Retaliation against civilian populations continued.
The LRA has been operating within the DRC since the 1980s, have repeatedly committed atrocities and human rights violations. The International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for the leadership of the organization on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
