LRA rebels kill 14 in S. Sudan school bus ambush

Sept 19, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Ugandan rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) ambushed a school bus in southern Sudan, killing 14 people, mostly women and children, officials said Monday.

“The attack took place on Saturday, near the border with Uganda. LRA rebels attacked a school bus and most of the victims are women and children,” said a local security source.

Pagan Amun, a senior official with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), confirmed the attack.

“It took place in Loka, a small town between Juba and Yei,” he told AFP.

LRA rebels have regularly staged attacks from bases in Sudan but crossed for the first time last week west of the White Nile, burning down houses in the on the main supply route to Juba, south Sudan’s main city.

The group’s long-running rebellion against Kampala has been marked by extreme brutality, including massacres, looting and the use of thousands of child soldiers.

Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir, who heads the SPLM, had warned last month that he wanted all LRA forces to leave pacified southern Sudan.

“The LRA is a big source of concern for us. The government of south Sudan will take all the necessary steps to expel them so we can protect the civilians who live in these areas,” Pagan Amun said.

Kampala and Khartoum signed a deal in 2002 allowing the Ugandan army to conduct raids in parts of remote Sudan following repeated complaints that Khartoum was harbouring the LRA.

(AFP)