The bases of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) were attacked on Monday in a joint operation by Ugandan, Congolese and Sudanese troops. The attack was agreed upon six months ago in the event that the leader of the Ugandan rebel group LRA, who is currently in hiding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, refused to sign a peace deal. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in the two decades of fighting between the LRA and the Ugandan government.Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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The toD verdict: The UN peacekeeping force within DRC has said that while they had been warned about the attack, they played no part in it. The LRA rebels have announced their intention to retaliate, which will add to the many problems in the already restive region.
This attack comes as an independent United Nations Security Council panel announced that Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are engaged in a "proxy war", with each state providing aid and supplies to the other's opponents. Rwanda, for example, had allegedly been helping the rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in waging his ongoing war against the DRC government.
It remains to be seen how this report will further strain relations between Rwanda and DRC, which are already at breaking point, and whether its impact will be felt throughout the area.
British PM links British terrorism to Pakistan
The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that three quarters of the most serious terrorism cases investigated by the British police lead back to sources with links to al-Qaeda in Pakistan. This claim came as Brown visited his Indian and Pakistani counterparts in their respective capital cities, New Delhi and Islamabad. Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has said that his government is investigating links between the violence in Mumbai and Pakistani organisations, but that any person arrested as a result of the subsequent crackdown on militant groups will not be extradited to India or any other country.
Mugabe accuses Botswana of conspiracy
The Zimbabwean government has accused Botswana of training insurgents along with Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in an attempt to oust President Robert Mugabe. The MDC denied the accusations whilst Botswana, one of the few African countries whose government has publicly criticised the Mugabe administration, made no immediate comment.
Scores detained after anti-government rally in Moscow
An unsanctioned political opposition rally in Moscow on Sunday was broken up and resulted in the detainment of at least 90 people, according to police figures. The demonstration was organised by The Other Russia movement and involved, amongst others, former chess champion Garry Kasparov and Eduard Limonov, the movement's founder. The protestors were demonstrating against the government's plans to extend the presidential term from four to six years. A spokesperson from The Other Russia group said of the protests and the subsequent arrests: "Today we saw a police state and its methods".
High death toll revealed in Darfur
Reports from peacekeeping troops in Sudan's south Darfur region have revealed that as many as 250 people have died as a result of tribal clashes in the area over the past week. Many of these conflicts start due to disputes over land and grazing rights, but since the start of the conflict in Darfur in 2003 these issues have been further complicated. According to international experts, over 200,000 have been killed and 2.5 million driven from their homes in more than five years of fighting.
Protests recommence against Thai government
The election on Monday of Abhisit Vejjajiva as prime minister of Thailand could mark the start of fresh protests against the leader of the Democrat Party. The months of protests that seemed to subside after the People Power Party (PPP) was removed from power were renewed by supporters of the ousted government who blocked access to parliament following the election results and damaged cars belonging to the new party in power.
