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

The operation has been criticized for sparking revenge attacks by the rebels against
unprotected civilians in the remote border region.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said Tuesday that the LRA had carried out attacks of
"appalling brutality," calling the situation "very worrying."
The UN said late last month that 130,000 people had been displaced in northern Congo after
fresh LRA attacks.
7,000 Congolese refugees flee to Uganda
Agence France Presse, 2/16/08
More than 7,000 people uprooted by violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
have crossed into Uganda since the start of the year, the UN refugee agency said Monday.
Recent clashes and a joint Rwanda-DR Congo offensive against Rwandan Hutu rebels in the
region has caused a surge in the number of refugees fleeing into neighboring Uganda, the
agency's spokeswoman in Kampala said.
She said last month's arrest of Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda had caused panic
among residents.
"This, and the joint offensive of Rwanda and Congo created a fear among people that they
might get caught up in the fighting," Vanessa Akello said, adding that the number of
Congolese crossing each week has doubled from an average of 600.
More than 45,000 Congolese have entered Uganda since August 28, when a tenuous
ceasefire between Nkunda and the Kinshasa government broke down.
On January 20, Congolese and Rwandan soldiers launched a joint offensive in the eastern DR
Congo against the Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR).
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Prepared by Craig Berry