Sudan’s Kiir calls rebel LRA to negotiate with Ugandan govt
Sept 23, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — The first vice-president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has again appealed to the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), to come out of southern Sudan and go into direct negotiations with the Ugandan government.
He said, “If they do not come out we shall force them to leave through military confrontation”.
During a news conference this evening at the Friendship Hall, on the sidelines of the second regional counter terrorism conference which ended today, he said that during his recent visit to Uganda, he had met President Yoweri Museveni and passed a message from the president Omar al-Bashir, which pointed to the need to coordinate between the armed forces, Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Ugandan forces to set up plans to pursue the LRA in the south, and to work towards removing them from that region.
It added that the Ugandan LRA had recently crossed the west bank of the Nile and attacked villages along Juba and Yei.
The message expressed its astonishment regarding the LRA’s inflatration from this side, indicating that it had not been carrying out military attacks in the western part of the Nile. It said that these forces had crossed through the DRCongo.
Salva Kiir said that he had informed the president Omar al-Bashir, about the need to allow the Ugandan forces to pursue the LRA in the south of the country. He said he had given three alternatives for the Ugandan LRA, which are:- 1. Negotiate with Uganda, 2. Leave southern Sudan or
3. Solve the problem through military confrontation.
He said, “These forces are carrying out terrorist operations in the south. We should repel them, especially when the second regional counter terrorism conference is being held in Khartoum.”
(ST)