Ugandan army kills 18 rebels in southern Sudan

KAMPALA, May 3, 2004 (Xinhua) — The Ugandan government forces killed 18 rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony in southern Sudan at the weekend, the Monitor newspaper reported Monday.

A spokesman for the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) said Sunday that the government troops ambushed the rebels who were moving downwards to reinforce another group of rebels, adding that the army also captured two rebels and recovered four submachine guns in the battle.

On the impact of the UPDF on-going military operations in southern Sudan, the spokesman said that “We have sufficient forces and our operations are going on well. Our pressure is to force Kony’s fighters to surrender.”

The Ugandan rebels have been fighting an 18-year-old war to topple the government dominated by southerners, and claiming to fight for the Acholi tribe. They have killed tens of thousands of civilians, abducted over 20,000 children and displaced more than 1. 5 million people, most of whom are from Acholi tribe.

Since last month, the Ugandan army have been pursuing the rebels in southern Sudan to flush them out after securing a green light from the Khartoum government.