Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

"They have no way out of these swamps except to surrender," he said.
Mende said the rest of the LRA had surrendered or disbanded, adding that the aim of the joint
operation against the rebels had almost been achieved.
He said that Congolese President Joseph Kabila and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri
Museveni would meet on the border between their two countries before the end of February
to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, two LRA commanders who reportedly were to surrender failed to appear at a
rendezvous in southern Sudan near the Congolese border, a United Nations official said.
Okot Odhiambo, believed to be Kony's number two, and his deputy Dominic Ongwen, had
been in negotiations to hand themselves in. The UN peacekeeping force in Sudan, UNMIS,
had been preparing their return to Uganda.
But "for reasons that remain unclear none of the combatants had presented themselves at the
designated rendezvous point as of Saturday afternoon," David Gressly, UNMIS regional
coordinator for southern Sudan, said in a statement.
Odhiambo and Ongwen are wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for a
raft of war crimes charges, including raping, killing civilians and forcibly enlisting child
soldiers.
Contacted by telephone from Kampala, the Ugandan spokesman for the joint operation in
Congo said it was "just a matter of time" before the LRA was finally defeated, but refused to
say how long it might take.
"Operations will... go on until Kony terrorists are routed out of DRC," Deo Akiiki said,
adding that "reviewing will only occur where necessary."
The "LRA's capacity to abduct and kill has been gravely reduced since the ground forces
took control of the situation," he said.
"They are being starved and no longer have time to sit or plan as our forces reduce their
numbers daily," he said. "We are sure we now have got all and it is a matter of time till we
stop LRA madness once and for all."
Operation Lighting Thunder was launched on December 14 after Kony repeatedly balked at
signing a peace agreement already inked by Kampala in April 2008.
The LRA began its rebellion against Kampala more than two decades ago and is accused of
committing atrocities against civilians in northern Uganda, south Sudan, northeastern DR
Congo and the Central African Republic.