Five bodies discovered after LRA ambush in Western Equatoria

By Richard Ruati

June 23, 2010 (YAMBIO) – Last Sunday morning, at about 09:30 Mr. Wilson Ambola Olukalie who is the only survivor out of the six killed by LRA on Sunday, left Juba for Yambio in a Land Cruiser with his Ugandan driver. Mr. Ambola works for Blue Lake as a forest manager in Yambio and was coming to pay his staff.

With him was 11500.00 (eleven thousand five hundred US Dollars). When he and his driver reached Maridi, they took two Sudanese passengers and again in Ibba, they also took two more (Sudanese) and the number reached six in the vehicle.

Just after River Sue Bridge at about 18:30, a man in uniform appeared from nowhere and started shooting in the air and pointing his A-K47 towards the side of the driver. Scared as he was, the driver lost control over the vehicle and went off road then stopped.

According to Mr. Wilson Ambola, 10 more soldiers appeared and surrounded the vehicle. Immediately they started looting everything in the car. All belongings were all taken including the cash. Mr. Wilson could not tell how much money they might have taken from the other people with him in the car apart from his own cash. After that they sat fire on the vehicle.

One more vehicle which was just few minutes away from them reached the scene and the LRA tried to stop the driver by shooting at the car but the driver continued speeding. He might have already sense the danger when he saw a burning car besides the road.

The soldiers then tied all the six on one rope and took them to the forest. Because Mr. Wilson who is a Kenyan national speaks a bit of Acholi, he could understand the soldiers’ language because his wife is an Acholi, he narrated.

Mr. Wilson said, the 11 LRA soldiers were well dressed all in new military (green) uniforms and new boots – well armed. He stated that six of the soldiers were matured and the other five were child soldiers. When they reached deep into the forest, they separated them from each other and from there he did not know what happened after that moment with his colleagues.

“I saw three children whom I believe were abducted from the local community in the surrounding areas,” said Mr. Wilson. One of them was a little girl and the rest were boys all around the age between 11 and 13 years old, he stated.

The soldiers continued walking very deep into the forest and ordered Mr. Wilson to sit down. They took a note book from with a pen and wrote a small note in Acholi and asked him translate into English. When translated, the note red as follow:-

– We are fighting for the rights of the Acholis in Uganda, DRC, Sudan and Central Africa Republic. We need recognition and the fate of our leader. We are ready to fight and anyone who wants to fight us is welcome and we are ready to fight back. We want peace and if there is someone who can be able to bring us to a negotiating table, we will talk. End of the note.

After finishing the translation, one of the soldiers asked his colleagues to let him go. It was already late at about 22:30hrs, they told Mr. Wilson that he was a free man and was free to go. He could not know how to get back to where they started the four hours journey.

He stated that he walked for some hours and then sat under a tree until 03:30 in the morning when he heard some sounds coming from the side of the road or a nearby village. He walked to that direction until he found himself in a small village near the road. The villagers took care of him and handed him over to the nearby police station in Banagsu.

Not until yesterday evening, the news about his colleagues reached him and all were dead. Among the dead were one policeman and a woman.

It is reported that a local chief in Obo in Central Africa Republic warned the counties of Tambura and Ezo that there are thousands of LRA soldiers coming towards the two counties and that people should be on alert.

(ST) fighters (AFP)”]