UPDF Fights Inside Sudan

Mar 04, 2002

HEAVY sound of gunfire inside Sudan on Sunday midday rocked Kitgum town as UPDF soldiers shelled Kony rebel hideouts.

Emmy Allio In Kitgum HEAVY sound of gunfire inside Sudan on Sunday midday rocked Kitgum town as UPDF soldiers shelled Kony rebel hideouts.The gunfire did not, however, deter business in the sprawling town. UPDF lorries and buffaloes (troop carriers) loaded with troops criss-crossed the town from Ngomoromo, the main UPDF barracks on the Sudan-Uganda border.The army has deployed heavily on the Sudan border from Aswa through Ngomoromo to the Kotido-Kitgum border.Army sources here said at least 100 fighters of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have been killed by UPDF inside Sudan in the past five days.“We have learned that Kony rebels received real military training for over a year and we hear they are determined to enter the country to practice their skills on the population. We are determined to stop them,” a senior UPDF source here said.The source said the LRA is being helped by a section of the Sudan government militia group, the Equatoria Defence Forces, led by Kenyi, who operates near the government-controlled garrison town of Torit.The UPDF pursued about 30 LRA rebels from Agoro market in Lamwo county on February 23. Vincent Oti led the rebels. Three rebels were killed and two were captured. The rebels killed three LDU soldiers and two civilians. The estimated 80 civilian captives were rescued by the UPDF from Sudan.A military source said the LRA on Friday tried to re-enter the country but fell into a “good” ambush by UPDF near Lubone, 10km inside Sudan.Ends

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