Den Internationale Domstol i Haag har kendt Uganda skyldig i krænkelser og overgreb under krigen i nabolandet DR Congo, og det kan resultere i en milliarderstatning, skriver flere nyhedstjenester mandag.
Domstolen, der hører under FN, fastslår, at Uganda krænkede DR Congos suverænitet og er skyldig i menneskeretskrænkelser i kæmpelandet under krigen i 1998-2003.
Retten tilføjer, at Uganda begik plyndringer i DR Congo ved at undlade at sikre sig, at soldaterne respekterede landets naturressourcer.
DR Congo, som er rigt på guld, diamanter og tømmer, var slagmark for oprørere, lokale grupper og nabolandene, heriblandt Uganda, i krigen.
DR Congo indklagede Uganda for Den Internationale Domstol i 1999 og krævede erstatning på 6-10 milliarder dollar (op til 62 milliarder kroner) for ødelæggelserne.
BBC Online tilføjer mandag:
– We are very happy that international law has finally listened to our case, Congolese government spokesman Henri Mova Sakanyi said adding that Kinshasa would seek between 6 billion and 10 billion dollar in compensation from Uganda.
Court rules allow states to negotiate compensation between themselves. The judges said the amount sought by DR Congo was “appropriate”.
Ugandas Foreign Minister in charge of International Affairs Okello Oryem said that Uganda “did not deserve” the judgement. – We went in Congo to pursue rebels, we were not the only people in Congo, there were many other militia groups, he said.
But ICJ president Shi Jiuyong told the court Ugandan troops had “created an atmosphere of terror pervading the life of the Congolese people”.
Uganda pulled its troops out of eastern DR Congo in 2003, but Kinshasa says its neighbour still supplies arms to Ugandan warlords who continue to steal the countrys natural resources of gold, diamonds and timber.
This year, the UN accused Uganda and Rwanda of violating an arms embargo by shipping weapons across DR Congos borders.
