Residents in the Democratic Republic ofCongo affected by the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army LRA) rebels saidthey will support a continuous assault on the rebels. This comes afterPresident Joseph Kabila's government vowed to root out the rebels who have beenusing the country as base to stage attacks in neighboring Uganda. The national armies of Congo, Uganda and SouthernSudan jointly launched an offensive against rebel held positions in the DRC.The attack aimed to pressure LRA leader Joseph Kony to sign a final peaceagreement after repeatedly failing to end the more than two decade-old civilwar. Congolese journalist Emry Makumene tells reporter Peter Clottey from thecapital, Kinshasa that those affected by the LRA insurgency are delighted withthe move to root out the rebels.
"Firstof all this is a very good reaction from our government here to tackle theLord's Resistance Army rebels who have been operating in the north eastern partof the country. This force has been very harmful to civilians in that area socertainly, this is a very good decision and we hope that it is really going tothe end, which is really to root out this negative force in our country,"Makumene said.
Hesaid President Kabila's government has taken a longer time to respond toresidents' demands to get rid of the rebels.
"Thepeople who have been living in the Garamba Park that Joseph Kony's men went inhave been asking for help from the government for a very long time now. Thesimple reason being that they are victims of extortion, they have been killedby the rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army and certainly the population isvery hopeful that the government will put all means together to root out thenegative forces," he said.
Makumenesaid the affected residents have often complained about the atrocitiescommitted by the LRA rebels.
"TheLRA rebels have been accused of raping and killing innocent civilians andtaking their belongings. And the population has been complaining for a longtime now, but nothing has been done. But thank heavens the government isfinally taking steps and joining the Ugandans to fight these people from theLord's Resistance Army," Makumene pointed out.
Hesaid President Kabila's government is saddled with too many militant forces inthe country, which prevented it from decisively dealing with the Lord'sResistance Army rebels.
"Inthe eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Lord's Resistance Army is not theonly rebel movement operating in that part of the country. There are numerousarmed groups, which are operational in the area in general so the Lord'sResistance Army is just one group, but there are dozens of them operating. So,the government is faced with so many armed groups in the area that and maybethat is why it is very difficult for the government here to react proactivelyto tackle one rebel movement," he said.
Makumenesaid resident adversely affected by the rebel insurgency have welcome thegovernment promise to root out the LRA rebels.
"Weheard the announcement that has been made by Alexis Thambe Mwamba, the Congoleseforeign minister about the fact the Congolese are going to join the Ugandans tofight against this Lord's Resistance Army group. The decision was welcomed bythe population, but so far the population what action has been taking on theground is yet to be known,"Makumene noted.
Congolese ForeignMinister Alexis Thambe Mwamba told a news conference in Paris that the militaryoffensive began over a week ago and proceeding acceptably. He said that in thecoming days Kinshasa will be able to be totally rid of Kony's Lord's ResistanceArmy rebels.