Congo hands Ugandan LRA commander to U.N. mission
Source: Reuters
KINSHASA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Congolese authorities handed over a commander from Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC) on Thursday, U.N. officials said. Opiyo Makasi, reported to be the LRA's operations and logistics commander, walked out of the bush nearly two weeks ago and gave himself up to Congolese police in Dungu in Congo's northern Orientale province, which borders Sudan. He was transferred with his wife to the capital Kinshasa on Oct. 14. "He and his wife were released. They're both in good condition," MONUC spokesman Kemal Saiki said. The LRA, whose brutal 20-year war in northern Uganda killed tens of thousands and made 2 million people refugees, signed a ceasefire with Uganda last year but has refused to quit its jungle hideouts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Makasi was transferred to MONUC's demobilisation and repatriation programme, which should prepare his eventual return to Uganda. "The normal procedure is that he will go before the amnesty commission or a representative thereof, and he would be repatriated to Uganda ultimately," Saiki said. Congo's government has still not confirmed Makasi was ever in their custody. Makasi is not among four top LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes including killing civilians, slicing off body parts and kidnapping children. Those four, including LRA leader and self-proclaimed mystic Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti, remain at large.
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