Uganda Rebels Say Attack in Congo Would Invite War

NAIROBI - Any attack on Ugandan rebels based in eastern Congo will be an invitation for the group to resume its war in northern Uganda, the fugitive Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) said on Wednesday.

The LRA, whose leaders are wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, terrorised the north for 20 years. But they are now based in northeastern Congo and their representatives are in peace talks with the government.

On Tuesday, Uganda began closing camps for the 1.7 million people uprooted by the conflict. But an agreement this week between Uganda and Congo to stamp out militias plaguing eastern Congo, including the LRA, has infuriated the rebels.

"Any attack on our military positions ... shall be strictly treated as a declaration of war, resumption of war and above all an invitation to bring war back to Uganda," LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo told a news conference in Nairobi.

He said Saturday's deal between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila, which calls for action against the rebels within 90 days, violated the spirit of the ongoing peace talks in Juba, southern Sudan.

Ugandan government and military officials were not immediately available to comment, but in recent months they have questioned the LRA's military capacity to resume hostilities.

Under the deal between Museveni and Kabila, whose relations have often been fraught, the two countries will also review their borders and open embassies to boost diplomatic ties.