Sudan’s Equatoria speaker urges to suspend Uganda peace talks
By Isaac Vuni
February 1, 2008 (JUBA) — The speaker of Central Equatoria State, Michael Zamba Duku today has called on government of Southern Sudan to immediately suspend the ongoing peace talks between the LRA and the government of Uganda under mediation of GoSS Vice president, Reak Machar.
Duku said, “How could our government continue mediating peace while at the same time LRA is killing our people”.
Meanwhile Rev. Kwiyasuk Jacob Gale of Episcopal Church of Sudan who is also a counselor at Kajo-keji County said the number of people killed by LRA during their attack in the county from 29th to 30th January this year has risen to six, including four SPLA soldiers, one wildlife soldier and one female civilian.
He added that LRA took four guns from killed soldiers plus one grenade along with more than 35 people they adopted as potters to carry looted food items and other valuable items from Kajo-keji county payams.
The pastor further disclosed that one of the injured captured LRA is a demobilized SPLA from Kajo-keji but failed to disclose how many were killed during their attack on Kala Boma at 4 am and Lainya Dongoro Boma at 5pm. However he estimated the number of LRA soldiers who terrorized the areas to be more than 300 soldiers.
A follow up telephone call to Kajo-keji this afternoon indicated that 25 civilians who were adopted and used to carry tooted food staff have safely returned and one of them revealed that the LRA who adopted them composed of Acholi, Madi and Kuku boys probably recruited from refugees’ camps in Uganda.
Both the government of Uganda spokesperson, Captain Christ and that of LRA, Masanga, contacted this evening have distance themselves from Kajo-keji incident and that they are more committed to concluding peaceful negotiation under southern Sudan government whom they respect as mediator to ending devastating conflict that has taken more than twenty years..
However, LRA stockperson, Masang pointed accusing finger at the Ugandan army (UPDF) and SPLA whom he said might have taken the opportunity to addressing their issues with government of southern Sudan by simply framing LRA because SPLA have not received their salaries for quite a long time but SPLA spokesperson could not be reach for comment.
Counselor Gale insisted that it was the LRA who attacked and looted food from four payams of Kojo-keji and expressed fears that people in the affected payams are exposed to serious hunger. Hence he appeals for urgent relief support from international community to come to the aid of Kajo-keji who has become victims of LRA by tooting their means of livelihoods.
The official visit of Speaker of Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly and Deputy Chairman of SPLM, Hon. James Wani Igga, left today afternoon for Kajo-keji and his visit has coincided with LRA atrocities, hence he is expected to address public rally at Kajo-keji town tomorrow while at the same time community of Kajo-keji in Juba will hold press conference at 10 am in Juba to give out more detail of the atrocities.
(ST)