Ugandan rebel leader survives army shelling in southern Sudan

KAMPALA, Sept 13, 2004 (Xinhua) — The Ugandan army has said leader of rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Joseph Kony escaped two days of artillery shelling into caves in Imatong Mountains in southern Sudan where he was hiding, according to The New Vision newspaper on Monday.

Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) spokesman based in Kitgum Chris Magezi was quoted as saying that Kony was lucky because the snow-capped Imatong Mountains made it hard for the Mi-24 helicopter gunships to be employed to bomb the caves where the rebels were hiding.

Magezi said the Imatong offensive was being conducted by the 45th Battalion under Major Kahwa and the 97th battalion under Major Mukoroko.

“Those captured told us that, just like them, Kony fled. He must be hiding in the forests since the caves are proving no better haven,” Magezi said.

The Ugandan army said that it captured 29 LRA fighters including a field commander, Lt. Bosco Oryem Okoro last week.

This was the second time that Kony survived in the battles in southern Sudan since July this year.

On July 28, Kony escaped at Dirinyang camp near Juba when the UPDF raided LRA headquarters. His 120 fighters were killed in the raid and his two wives and 13 children captured.

The LRA rebels, based in southern Sudan, have fought the Ugandan government in an 18-year rebellion, killing tens of thousands of civilians, abducting over 20,000 children and displacing over 1.6 million people in the northern part of the east African country.