DR Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic discuss joint fight against LRA rebels

Army chiefs of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Uganda and Central African Republic are meeting here on Tuesday and Wednesday to assess the operation against the Ugandan rebel movement, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) .

The meeting is attended by chief of general staff of the Ugandan army Aronda Nyakirimana, his counterpart from Central African Republic Francois Modebu and Congolese army chief Didier Etumba.

The three countries are engaged in the actions to get rid of the LRA operating in the three neighboring countries, as well as in southern Sudan.

The LRA has waged one of the longest guerrilla wars in Africa since 1986, roaming between Uganda, southern Sudan, DR Congo and Central African Republic. Its guerrilla-style warfare has left tens of thousands dead and 2 million homeless over years.

DR Congo and Uganda launched a joint military operation against the LRA on Dec. 14, 2008, declaring they had wiped out 80 percent of the rebel group at the end of the crackdown in March.

Although the joint military action dismantled the LRA's main base in DR Cong's Garamba national park bordering both Uganda and southern Sudan, the notorious group is still able to launch attacks on villages where cases of killing, looting, rape and child abduction were reported.

Source: Xinhua