Ugandan rebels renew attacks in Sudan’s Western Equatoria state
Richard Ruati
July 6, 2009 (YAMBIO) – Residents of Dimbiro village near Yambio continue to flee their homes following last week reprisal attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
The attacks have been provoked by ongoing anti-LRA operations by the Ugandan army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the region.
“Ugandan rebels avoiding a multinational offensive have raided a village and killed at least 1 person, and abducting many other people including a lady identified as Mary Kazi with her four children,” confirmed the Deputy Governor Col Joseph Ngere.
Ngere added that, “The state government deplores the LRA clandestine attacks,” and emphasized that,”the government is doing its best to protect the innocent civilians from the LRA vicious attacks.”
“They are avoiding any conventional attack contact. They are not willing to confront SPLA forces.” stated Col Ngere.
The LRA rebels continue to attack the Western Equatoria villages, which they burn and loot, and kidnap civilians, said a local resident, Boutros Juma. He is the most-affected victim of the recent attack where he sustained injuries in left ribs and several wounds in his forehand.
“While [we] arrived in the village of Dimbiro [I] sensed a strange sound of like the platoons of goats grazing, it did not take long when LRA started looting chickens and other food items in the neighborhood and the birds started booing them,” added Juma.
The attack was on 3rd of July at 3:00PM local time. “It caused panic in the villages of Dimbiro and Bawo, from where the residents have fled,” Juma said.
Acting Governor earlier told reporters that, “the rebels had abducted two civilians in different raids over the last week period.”
Following the rejection of the LRA leader Joseph Kony to sign a peace agreement to end more than twenty years of civil war in Uganda, the Ugandan army backed by the Congolese and southern Sudan begun a joint offensive in mid December 2008 to force him to sign the GOSS sponsored deal.
The LRA rebels are believed displacing their bases to Central Africa.
(ST)