Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed on measures to eliminate the rebels of the People's Redemption Army (PRA) that has been fighting the Ugandan government.

During a 'tripartite plus' meeting of defense ministers in the DRC town of Lubumbashi last week, the four countries agreed to sign an extradition treaty aimed at hunting down and handing over each other's dissidents.

"There was consensus that PRA still exists and poses a security threat to us all," Ugandan State Minister for Defense Ruth Nankabirwa was quoted by the state-owned New Vision as saying on Monday.

"They are currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo and move around the neighboring countries. It was agreed that the countries where they are should get rid of them or hand them over, " the minister said.

Nankabirwa said the extradition treaty was being drafted by a team of experts in Goma, the DRC. It would be considered for signing during their next meeting in September.

"Once this treaty is in place, it will be very difficult for dissidents to destabilize a country and run to another," she said.

An updated list of the most wanted people in the region will also be released in September.

Nankabirwa explained that the leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army were still on the list because they had not yet signed a peace deal with the Ugandan government. The peace negotiations are still going on in Juba, southern Sudan since it was initiated last July.

The meeting also discussed intelligence reports gathered from the four countries, which indicated that the region had improved in terms of security.

Source: Xinhua