Two Ugandan MPs held by Sudanese rebels on border

KAMPALA, Oct 13, 2003 (Xinhua) — Two Ugandan members of parliament have been held by the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) at Kerwa, Madigo sub-county in Yumbe district on the Sudan border, reported The New Vision newspaper on Monday.

The two Ugandan MPs, Nusura Tiperu of Yumbe district and Osuman Alonga of Yumbe county, and some district officials were arrested on Saturday while on a measles immunization campaign in the area.

Yumbe district chairman Rashid Yiga and resident district commissioner Ahmed Doka were part of the team.

“We were arrested but we are now free,” Tiperu told the government newspaper by telephone from Yumbe on Sunday.

“We were mobilizing people to take their children for immunization. When we reached Kerwa, the SPLA rebels staged a road block and blocked our convoy of five vehicles. We tried to negotiate for our freedom, but they seemed to think we were up to some ulterior motives,” Tiperu said.

She said the SPLA said the team had entered their territory in the Sudan without permission.