Tag: Lord’s Resistance Army

Uganda Purges Military

Following an internal fraud investigation and criticism of the failure of Uganda’s military to halt attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the BBC reports that three of the five Ugandan army division commanders, the director of military intelligence, and 28 other senior military officers were fired this week.

Some of the officers will face court martials after an investigation turned up large numbers of soldiers who were on the military payroll but didn’t actually exist.

Source:

Museveni purges Ugandan military. The BBC, December 2, 2003.

Ireland Donates Money to Aid Ugandan Refugees

Kampala newspaper New Vision reports that the Government of Ireland has donated 130 million shillings (about US $75,000) to help Uganda deal with the estimated 40,000 internally displaced persons who have left their homes in the wake of recent attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Source:

Ireland Gives Internally Displaced Persons Sh130m. New Vision, Kampala, December 2, 2003.

Ugandan Defense Minister Says LRA Maintains Training Camp in Sudanese-Controlled Territory

Ugandan defense minister Ruth Nankabirwa told Kampala newspaper New Vision that Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony is still operating a training camp in territory controlled by the Sudanese army, though she was diplomatic enough to avoid accusing Sudan’s government of supporting the LRA.

Nankabirwa said,

He (LRA leader Joseph Kony) still has a rear base camp some two to three kilometres northwest of Nisitu junction, which is behind Sudan army lines and our forces deployed there cannot do anything, because the protocol under which they are deployed does not allow them to go beyond some lines.

. . .

We are taking diplomatic steps to make Sudan honour its obligations under the protocol. But it should be noted that the Sudan government has not fully responded to the outstanding issues raised by Uganda.

Sudan’s government is apparently blaming the continued presence of LRA bases in its territory on rogue military elements, although Sudan has a long history of providing both direct and indirect support to the LRA.

Source:

Sudan Officers Shield LRA. New Vision (Kampala), December 1, 2003.

Ugandan Legislators Stage Walkout to Protest Lack of Action Against LRA

Voice of America reports that MPs representing the northern region of Uganda staged a walkout of parliament to protest the government’s inability to deal decisively with the Lord’s Resistance Army’s continuing violent incursions in that part of the country.

Lira district MP Margaret Ateng complained that after 16 years the Ugandan government still doesn’t seem to be able to stop the LRA from operating in northern Uganda,

But, to our surprise, no changes have come, changes meaning that there’s not been a stop to LRA incursions. Instead, it has worsened. We’ve seen that, whatever we’ve been mentioning, whatever we’ve been stating to be done, whatever advice we’ve given for things to improve has not been taken up.

Source:

Uganda parliament members protest continuing northern violence. Voice of America, November 24, 2003.

Group Fighting LRA Requests More Guns

Members of Parliament from Lango, Uganda, urged the government to supply more rifles to pro-government militias fighting the Lord’s Resistance Army in Lango. The LRA recently released letters promising to undertake widespread killings in Lango.

Kampala newspaper The Monitor quoted Lango member of parliament Omara Atubo as saying,

Imagine 2,000 people being given only 800 guns to fight! We appeal to government to give us more guns to counter the bigger threat the rebels pose now. As a result, many [fighters] have abandoned [the war] because they will definitely not fight with their bare hands.

According to The Monitor, the government has agreed to give guns to the Amuka Group, which is fighting the LRA in Lango, as well as the Arrow Group which is fighting the rebels in the Teso region.

Source:

Lango MPs Ask for Guns. The Monitor (Kampala), November 28, 2003.

LRA Troops Murder Nine Children in Lira District

The Mail and Guardian reports that earlier this week Lord’s Resistance Army troops murdered several children they had previously kidnapped in Uganda’s Lira district,

UgandaÂ’s LordÂ’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels on Tuesday bludgeoned to death nine children they had earlier abducted as well as three others they found in a village in northern Uganda, army sources said.

This follows a week of incursions by the LRA in which more than 100 people were killed.

Source:

Children latest victims of LRA rebels. Mail and Guardian, November 24, 2003.