Saleh Joins War On Kony

BY Grace Matsiko Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh has joined President Yoweri Museveni in a major military offensive against Joseph Kony’s rebels in northern Uganda, high level UPDF sources said yesterday.Saleh, a battle-hardened military officer and the Army Representative to Parliament, is to be based in Gulu.He will join the UPDF High Command overseeing the anti-Kony rebel offensive. The General is also the commander of the Reserve Force.“He (Saleh) has been in Gulu for over a week and he is expected to stay there as long as there is instability. He is part of the command structure as the commander of the Reserve Force and as a patriot who wants to see a stable country,” a senior UPDF officer said on condition of anonymity.The Army spokesman and military assistant to the Minister for Defence, Major Shaban Bantariza could not be reached for comment. He was reportedly attending a seminar in Entebbe.But another officer said, “seeing such high-ranking military officers,including the Commander-In-Chief in an operation area, gives a lot of morale to the soldiers on the frontline. It is a sign of the commitment the top command has towards the protection of the people.”During Saleh’s tenure as the overall commander of the UPDF operations against Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army based in Gulu, the northern region experienced relative peace.A military source said a big number of rebels surrendered during Saleh’s command.President Museveni, who has pitched camp in Gulu to oversee the anti-Kony operations, has taken UPDF soldiers through military drills. He has vowed to end Kony’s terror campaign against innocent civilians before leaving Gulu.The LRA rebels with bases in the southern Sudan have killed, maimed, raped and abducted people during the 16-year rebellion.Sudan recently signed agreements with Kampala allowing the UPDF to pursue the LRA inside their territory and rescue abducted people.The deadline for the Sudan operation has been extended several times to allow the UPDF mop-up rebel remnants.Ends