UN says leader of Uganda's LRA rebels is in Central African Republic

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) said Friday that the leader of the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Koni, is in the Central African Republic while his two deputies remained on the territory of the DRC.

MINURSO made the revelation in a statement obtained by PANA here.

The LRA often targets churches, schools and markets and perpetrated the massacre of 850 Congolese civilians during the Christmas holidays in 2008 and that of at least 345 others in the Makombo area in the north.

The LRA is considered one of the most brutal guerrilla movements in the world and its leader Koni is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The LRA began operations in 1988 in northern Uganda before expanding its operations to North-eastern DRC, and later to CAR and Sudan.
-0- PANA LAPS / JSG/JEN/SEG 10Dec2010