An official of Uganda’s government has denied reports that its troops have entered into Beni town in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s formerly restive Kivu province.

Uganda's information minister Kabakumba Masiko says there is no need for residents in the Kivu provinces to panic. 

“There are no Uganda soldiers in DRC and I think there is no cause for alarm. What I know is around Christmas, we normally deploy some soldiers to patrol our borders. They could have strayed in Congo, but definitely, as we talk now there are no Ugandan soldiers in Congo, and there is no need for them to worry,” she said.

Recently, the governments of Congo, Uganda, and Southern Sudan launched a joint offensive against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an insurgent group out of northern Uganda, whose leaders have outstanding arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Analysts said, however, the offensive failed to arrest or kill the notorious LRA commander Joseph Kony.

Masiko says the joint military offensive against armed groups in the region will continue.

“The arrangement in the Great Lakes region is for all these countries not to host troops or rebels or whoever are hostile to a sister government. If you are talking about the old story, that was long ago when we were chasing Kony in DRC,” Masiko said.

But residents of Beni, a town in the northeast of the DRC, report they have seen a battalion-size regiment of Ugandan troops in the area since December.

Omari Kavota, a leading civil society activist in Beni town says residents are expressing skepticism about why the Ugandan troops are in their area.

“I must tell you that there was a move of Ugandan soldiers in Congo. It was about one battalion composed of 560 persons. We are afraid, and the people are afraid (of the Uganda troop presence),” Kavota said.

He said the leaders in the Beni community have alerted President Joseph Kabila’s government about the Ugandan troop presence.

Kavota says residents want to be assured of their safety.

“We have told the authorities that they should take troops to the border so that (the) people will be assured,” Kavota said.

1. • LRA: UNHCR relocates 1,500 refugees from CAR to the DRC (August 24, 2010)
2. • Report: Uganda LRA rebels 'on massive forced recruitment drive' (August 12, 2010)
3. • Congo Army Killed Ugandan Rebels Commander in North Kivu - Government (August 4, 2010)
4. • Huge DR Congo gold mine to open, displacing 15,000 (July 22, 2010)
5. • Congo Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Independence (June 30, 2010)
6. • Report Says Uganda's Elusive LRA Rebel Almost Caught Last Year (June 24, 2010)
7. • Tullow Oil loses Congolese permit on Lake Albert (June 24, 2010)
8. • Great Lakes regional body calls for free, fair elections in member states (May 23, 2010)
9. • Great Lakes states meet in Uganda over conflict minerals (May 23, 2010)
10. • African Leaders Discuss Nile River Dispute (May 23, 2010)
11. • Uganda opens refinery for Congo gold (May 5, 2010)
12. • Behind Human Rights Watch Report on LRA, a Plea for MONUC to Remain in the Congo (March 29, 2010)
13. • New strategy needed against LRA in DR Congo, says UN chief (March 28, 2010)
14. • Reports That LRA's Kony is Hiding in Darfur Alarm South Sudan (March 19, 2010)
15. • Ugandan rebels kill 100 civilians in north-eastern DR Congo, UN reports (February 1, 2010)
16. • Top LRA Commander Killed (January 4, 2010)
17. • Blue helmets protect thousands daily, says top UN envoy (December 28, 2009)
18. • Ugandan rebels murder, rape, mutilate, displace thousands in DR Congo, Sudan - UN (December 21, 2009)
19. • UN Security Council urges Uganda's LRA rebels to surrender (November 18, 2009)
20. • DR Congo in better situation but still in aftermath of insecurity (November 2, 2009)
21. • Aid Group Calls for Urgent Response to DRC Crisis (October 15, 2009)
22. • Rebel Group LRA Seeks New Peace Talks With Ugandan Government (September 24, 2009)
23. • Restoration of DRC-Uganda Ties Shows New Regional Cooperation (August 31, 2009)
24. • UN: LRA Attacks in Eastern Congo Displace Thousands (August 28, 2009)
25. • UN emergency fund gives $7 million to aid eastern DR Congo's displaced (July 17, 2009)
26. • More work remains to ensure justice for war crimes victims, says head of ICC (July 17, 2009)
27. • Congo Government Accuses Human Rights Watch of Hidden Agenda (July 5, 2009)
28. • UN seeks $38 million to help civilians in eastern DR Congo (June 17, 2009)
29. • Thousands flee LRA attacks in northeast (May 29, 2009)
30. • UN chief demands justice in name of child soldiers and victims of sexual abuse (April 30, 2009)

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