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Uganda asked to pay Congo damages

LONDON: The International Court of Justice has ordered Uganda to pay reparations to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the five-year occupation of its eastern regions. The U.N.'s highest judicial body ruled that Uganda's 1998-2003 intervention violated international sovereignty and led to the killing and torture of civilians and the destruction of villages. Kampala's claim that it acted in self-defence was dismissed in a sweeping ruling which piled fresh pressure on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The court upheld Congo's claim that it had been the victim of unlawful military intervention, though it did not find a deliberate policy of terror. Kinshasa welcomed the ruling and said it would seek $6-$10billion in compensation, an estimate the court said would be appropriate. More than three million died in fighting which spawned myriad Congolese militias and rebel groups and sucked in armies from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. Foreign forces withdrew after accords paved the way for Congo's current fragile peace.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

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