UN accuses UPDF of war crimes By Frank Nyakairu Aug 11, 2004 KAMPALA â The UN peacekeeping force in the DR Congo has issued a damning report accusing the Ugandan Army of war crimes in the northeastern province of Ituri.
This and many other reports will be submitted to the International Criminal Court in the ongoing investigation into widespread rights abuses in Ituri. UN human rights experts have accused the UPDF and Congolese armed groups of âthe massive abusesâ. The 65-page confidential UN report was prepared by human rights and child welfare experts in the Monuc and is based on more than 1,600 interviewees, including victims and eyewitnesses. It says at least 8,000 civilians were deliberately killed or were victims of the indiscriminate use of force in Ituri province in 2002 and 2003,and more than 600,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes âIn addition, the pre-transition government in Kinshasa and the governments of Rwanda and Uganda all contributed to the massive abuses by arming, training and advising local armed groups at different times,â the report says. While Uganda claimed on several occasions to be in Ituri to defend âits legitimate security concerns,â the report said âits commanders were responsible for the creation of almost all of the armed groups.â The Acting Foreign Affairs Minister, Maj. Tom Butime, dismissed the allegations as âabsolute nonsense. The UPDF yesterday dismissed the report as false and unauthoritative and demanded evidence. âSaying that is one thing and providing credible evidence is anotherâsaid UPDF spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza asking: âwhat jurisdiction does Monuc have?â Â 2004 The Monitor Publications -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
