KAMPALA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The deputy leader of the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army, wanted by a war crimes court, has defected and wants to surrender if he can negotiate an amnesty, the International Organisation for Migration said on Thursday. The desertion of Okot Odhiambo, who is number two to LRA leader Joseph Kony, would be the highest-level rebel defection in years. Uganda, Congo and south Sudan launched an offensive against LRA fighters in December in the remote jungles of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and since that attack, the insurgents have killed some 900 people in reprisals. "The language he (Okot Odhiambo) is using is that he's defected and wants amnesty," Jeremy Haslam, chief of mission for IOM in Uganda, told Reuters by telephone. "We're in regular contact with Odhiambo." The inter-governmental body is coordinating Odhiambo's surrender, Haslam said, adding that the LRA deputy would come out with 45 rebels and 10 abductees. Odhiambo, Kony and two other commanders are wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes including rape, murder and mutilation. Odhiambo rose to the rank of second-in-command in 2007 after self-proclaimed mystic Kony killed his then deputy Vincent Otti. The IOM, which deals with migration issues, provides assistance to Uganda's amnesty commission and for repatriation of combatants, according to its Web site. Uganda's government has in the past given amnesty to deserting LRA rebels. The LRA has waged a two-decade war against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni that has killed thousands of people and destabilised a swathe of mineral-rich central Africa. Two-years of peace talks collapsed last April after Kony failed to sign a final deal. Kampala, which initially said it planned to spend a month hunting the rebels, is still pursuing Kony in remote areas of Congo. Critics say the offensive has failed to destroy the rebels' fighting ability and that the group might have been tipped off to the initial assault. (Reporting by Jack Kimball)
Pro-Palestinian protesters shout during a demonstration in Paris January 24, 2009 against the Israel's offensive against Gaza. The placard reads: "Legalized genocide, Israel assassinates". REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes (FRANCE) ...
