LRA rebels in Congo turned more deadly by offensive

BUNIA, Congo (Reuters) - Ugandan rebels have killed more than 500 people in northeast Congo since September, and the violence has multiplied since a Ugandan-led offensive tried to flush them out of the bush, U.N. officials said Tuesday.

The officials said the security and humanitarian situation in Democratic Republic of Congo's Oriental Province had sharply deteriorated since the military operation started on December 14.

Uganda, Congo and South Sudan launched the joint offensive against the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Congo's Garamba National Park after LRA leader Joseph Kony again failed to sign a deal to end a two-decade rebellion.

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR estimated that 537 people had been killed in LRA attacks since September in Oriental Province, which borders Uganda and South Sudan.

Another 408 people had been kidnapped by the rebels, who are notorious for snatching children for use as porters, sex slaves and fighters, and more than 104,000 people were thought to have been forced from their homes into the bush by the violence.

"The displaced population is in dire need of food, shelter, medicines, clothes and other aid items. The area, which by itself poses immense logistical challenges due to the lack of roads or their poor condition, remains highly volatile," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said in a statement in Geneva.

The killing of Congolese civilians by LRA fighters jumped sharply since the start of the Ugandan-led offensive. U.N. officials and local rights groups say at least 271 villagers were slaughtered in a series of Christmas week massacres.

"I have the impression that the war is just beginning," said Adedeji Olamide, head of the office of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo (MONUC) in Bunia, which covers the northeast.

"NO JOKE"

Olamide said the Ugandan-led military coalition may have underestimated the strength of the guerrilla force led by Kony, who has so far evaded capture by an offensive that has used special forces, aircraft and attack helicopters.

"Now the UPDF (Ugandan armed forces) realizes this isn't a joke," Olamide added.

Uganda says the operation has destroyed several LRA bases in the isolated Garamba forests.

A self-proclaimed prophet, Kony is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. He was still ready to discuss peace despite the offensive against him, his spokesman said.

The LRA was pushed out of northern Uganda after its bush war had killed thousands and displaced 2 million, but has continued to mount raids in Central African Republic, Congo and Sudan.

Central African Republic is planning to send more troops to its border with Congo to stop fleeing LRA rebels from crossing over. In February and March, hundreds of LRA fighters looted villages in southeastern CAR and kidnapped around 150 people.

U.N. special envoy to northern Uganda, former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, said Monday an LRA delegation had delivered a letter to him from Kony at the weekend.

"They briefed me about the situation on the ground and their will for ceasefire and the way forward, they said they want to halt fighting," Chissano said. He added he intended to resume contact with all parties to try to end the conflict.