ITURI: POSSIBLE UGANDAN SUPPORT TO MILITIAS; KARIM

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 002110 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2015 TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS CG UG SUBJECT: ITURI: POSSIBLE UGANDAN SUPPORT TO MILITIAS; KARIM MAY BE WILLING TO SURRENDER REF: A. KINSHASA 2012 ¶B. KINSHASA 1998 Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) MONUC military commanders told PolOff December 28 that a truck captured by the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) during operations in Nioka (reftel A) belongs to the Ugandan military. MONUC officials said the truck, which was being driven by three Ugandan civilians (later arrested),bore the markings of the UPDF. MONUC officials said the vehicle was used to deliver weapons from Uganda to militia forces of the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC) and would return with illegal wood to sell across the border. When pressed, the MONUC Ituri Deputy Brigade Commander told PolOff MONUC was confident the truck was provided by the Ugandan military for weapons transport. In addition, the same official said ammunition and weapons caches seized in Operation Eden arrived from Ugandan sources, mostly likely the military. ¶2. (C) MONUC sources also said MRC leader Peter Karim fled fighting around Nioka December 25 and headed in the direction of the Ugandan border. MONUC intelligence indicates Karim and one of his bodyguards escaped in two different cars, but their exact whereabouts are unknown. However, MONUC officials say Karim, through intermediaries, is making overtures about a possible surrender. According to MONUC military officials, Karim wants to give himself up to MONUC forces, because he fears if he is captured by the FARDC, he will be killed in captivity. (Note: Karim's fears are legitimate, as FARDC troops December 15 publicly mutilated and burned the body of a captured MRC cadre in Mahagi. End note.) ¶3. (C) According to MONUC officials, Operations Eden and Edifice have been successful endeavors. All major towns in Ituri District are now under FARDC and MONUC control, with only isolated pockets of militia resistance remaining. Sources report MRC forces have been completely dispersed and cut off from their supply routes. FRPI cadres near Boga are reportedly dispirited and preparing to surrender as well. MONUC officials said the FARDC is regrouping to chase down remaining militia elements in the region and operations there should last at least one more week. No further injuries or deaths of either MONUC or FARDC forces have been reported since December 25. MEECE