By Ronald Odongo in Gulu, February 8, 2009
The UPDF in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are upbeat to capture the elusive LRA rebel boss Joseph Kony and his top commanders alive. They have also maintained that they would continue with operation “Lightning Thunder” against LRA rebels in the jungle of Garamba, quashing several reports in the media that they were supposed to quit DRC today, Sunday the 8th February.
The UPDF and the joint task force spokesperson in Garamba Capt.Deo Akiiki told us that on the 23rd of January 2009 their stay in DRC was extended by 21 more days during a meeting organized by the General Chief of Staff of Congo and the Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda, Gen Aronda Nyakairima and held at Dungu Joint Task Force Tactical Headquarters. The meeting was also attended by intelligence chiefs of the two countries on behalf of DRC and Uganda governments.
Capt. Deo Akiiki noted that UPDF’s stay in DRC under a new arrangement would expire on the February 13, 2009, but he was expecting top military and intelligence officials of the from the two allied countries to would meet next week to review their operation.
Akiiki also said that since “Operation Lightning thunder” was launch on December 14, 2009, the UPDF and allied forces from DRC and the Southern Sudan have registered several achievements on daily basis, citing the killing of Kony’s fighters and capturing others including top commanders.
“Going by our score board, we have fully destroyed the rebels, we continue to rescue women and children and of course kill and capture LRA fighters while others are continuing to report after every fight” UPDF Garmba publist told us on Sunday, and added that the LRA are on the verge of total defeat.
He intimated to us that the pressure on LRA terrorists has hugely increased as more special squads close in on their senior commanders sending some to begin looking for ways of surrender or defection.
“This has happened at a time when our ground troops are fully taking charge of the Garamba jungles and steadily mastering the terrain. Common to UPDF, the wananch in DRC have joined hands and helping us with human intelligence on the whereabouts of this snake that has infiltrated them and the results of recent are more vivid than when we had just started the operation”, Akiiki added.
UPDF is mainly hosted by DRC and FARDC is a friendly force in this operation, therefore DRC still holds the bigger chunk of the determination of whether we should continue with the operations or not, although as members of the region and the international community which supports this operation we have a say and cause for being in Congo.
Of recent LRA has been starved and UPDF shall continue to starve them as long as they opt to fight on, according to Akiiki. “This was manifested by the current attempt by an LRA “senior” officer Maj Opori Okello who dared return to check if he could reach his former granary in former camps”.
Akiiki maintained that the UPDF advised those LRA rebel fighters and their commanders to surrender or defect as other commanders have done saying that whoever wants to come out would not be harmed.
“Okot Odhiambo and other commanders who want to surrender should not look any step behind but instead just make more strides forward to avoid extinction or death in the Congo jungles. It is still better to come out in the open than be captured or killed by our boys whose morale have gone wild as they play the game they know best”
“Leaving Kony in Congo may come with even more devastating terrorism as he may turn on helpless Congolese in revenge as he has ever done before to the people of Northern Uganda who would dare say his whereabouts. Halting a joint military Action, deadlines or UPDF leaving Congo or not therefore should not be the question, but the fact is that LRA has continued to terrorize the region and he must be stopped, period”, Capt Akiiki concluded.
Filed under: LRA
