Sudan, Uganda cooperate to crack down on LRA rebels
By Ssekandi Ronald, Chen Cailin
KAMPALA, Aug 7, 2004 (Xinhua) — Recent developments have seen Sudan and Uganda bury the hatchet and decide to fight one common enemy — the Lord’ s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
Last week, the Sudanese government for the first time guided the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) in hunting Uganda’s LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony who was hiding in areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Armed Forces (SPAF).
On July 28, the Ugandan army attacked the LRA headquarters in Dirinyang area in southern Sudan and killed 120 rebels.
The LRA rebels, based in southern Sudan, have been fighting an 18-year cross-border war against the Ugandan government, killing thousands of people and leaving some 1.6 million others displaced in northern Uganda.
Actually, since 2002, Sudan, Uganda’s former arch enemy, has allowed Ugandan troops into its territory to fight the LRA rebels, showing Sudan’s commitment toward ending the insurgency in Uganda.
According to military sources in southern Sudan, Kony, who is a self proclaimed prophet, escaped the attack, leaving behind four of his wives, 13 children and his satellite phone on the battle field when the UPDF raided his camp.
In an interview with local press here, Sudanese ambassador to Uganda Surajuddin Hamid said that Sudan will execute Kony or hand him over to Uganda if he is captured.
“If Kony is found and arrested by our people, he will be handed over immediately to Uganda or he will be tried and executed in Sudan for the atrocities he has committed,” said Hamid.
However, military sources say that some officers of the Sudanese army still support the LRA in the form of food, medicine and uniforms. The accusations have angered Sudanese officials in Kampala who contend that there is no more support given to the LRA.
“When we decide to do something we are committed to it. When we supported Kony we said it. We are now entering a new phase in the relationship. We won’t allow it to happen again,” said the ambassador.
The Khartoum government used to arm and train the LRA rebels giving a safe haven to the Sudanese People’ s Liberation Army/ Movement.
It has now decided to turn against its former ally. This has not come as a surprise following the continued attack of the rebels on Sudanese.
The LRA have on various occasions attacked people in southern Sudan in search of food. On July 23, The LRA rebels killed about 40 people during a raid on villages in southern Sudan.
SPAF Brigadier Mohammed Habib told his Ugandan counterpart Kale Kaihura who is based in Juba, southern Sudan, that the LRA have terrorized the people in southern Sudan just as much as in northern Uganda.
Kaihura, also Uganda’s army chief political commissar and military assistant to President Yoweri Museveni, was quoted by local media as saying that Mohammed Habib assured him of Sudan’s commitment to ending the LRA rebellion in a week.
The Ugandan president told a news conference on Friday that the war in northern Uganda is coming to an end.