M23 rebel chief in Ugandan custody

DPA

Johannesburg

The military leader of the Congolese rebel group M23, Sultani Makenga, has handed himself over to the Ugandan military, according to a UN official.

“Confidential sources within the Ugandan military and the M23 both confirm that Makenga is in (Ugandan) custody,” according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He surrendered this week.

Uganda had previously confirmed the surrender of some 1,700 members of M23 – which renounced its armed conflict on Tuesday after recently suffering heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army and a UN peacekeeping force.

However, Kampala had denied holding Makenga.

Rights groups have noted severe abuses by both sides in the conflict. M23, in particular, has been cited for cases of massacre, rape, and the use of child soldiers.

M23, mostly comprised of ethnic Tutsis, has allegedly been receiving backing from Rwanda, and to a lesser extent Uganda. Both nations deny the charges.

Russ Feingold, the US envoy for the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that M23’s rank and file could be offered amnesty.

However, the leaders responsible for the most serious war crimes during the 20-month rebellion would have to face justice, Feingold said.

Analysts said M23 has been struck by splits within its ranks since its peak last year, when the group overtook the key Congolese city of Goma and forced the government into negotiations.

In March, wanted war crimes suspect Bosco Ntaganda, who was seen as a top military leader in M23, suddenly handed himself over to the US embassy in Rwanda and was subsequently flown to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court.

Ntaganda likely made the move after his faction was defeated by Makenga’s units following fierce fighting within the M23.

Makenga, believed to be about 40 years old, is an ethnic Tutsi born in eastern Congo.

He first became involved in fighting alongside Rwandan forces in the mid-1990s, at the time of the genocide in Rwanda.

He has since fought for several Congolese groups seen as being allied with the Rwandan government, which consists mostly of Tutsis.

The UN has placed sanctions on Makenga, but the ICC has not issued a warrant for his arrest.

The collapse of M23 marks the first time since 1996 that Kigali does not have a player in the volatile eastern Congo.

The UN force that helped defeat the group is about 3,000 troops strong, all from African nations, and is operating under a unique offensive mandate.

Congolese and Western officials have said the so-called Intervention Brigade will now go after other armed groups in the Congo, including the FDLR, a group which has members who were part of the radical Hutu militias that carried out the Rwandan genocide.