Battle of Lango
Mar 07, 2004
The fighting was fierce. And when the last shot was fired on Thursday in Got-Ojwang, 39 LRA rebels were counted dead. But two of the dead were dressed in the newly-issued Amuka militia uniforms, reports <b>Emmy Allio</b> in Otuke, Lira
The fighting was fierce. And when the last shot was fired on Thursday in Got-Ojwang, 39 LRA rebels were counted dead. But two of the dead were dressed in the newly-issued Amuka militia uniforms, reports Emmy Allio in Otuke, Lira
ORUM trading centre in Otuke county is 63km north of Lira town. For over a year now, Orum has been home to a large population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled the marauding Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
The road to Orum passes through Abia, where LRA rebels killed 47 civilians on February 4. The once robust village lies in ruins. This is replicated elsewhere. Abandoned grass thatched homesteads and churches lie in a shambles.
Corrugated iron-roofed houses, with broken doors and missing windows, stick out of the bushes like sore thumbs.
Perhaps a painful reminder that if most of the houses were not grass-thatched, LRA’s destruction putsch would not have been so devastating. But it's just that; perhaps.
Not far from Abia is Bar-lonyo, the scene of the February 21 massacre of about 200 people.
Some 63km away on the dusty but well-surfaced murram is Orum, another microcosm of northern Uganda.
The 30km-sketch from Orum to Got-Ojwang was once neatly graded, but now the murram has given way to grass and thickets.
Even the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) commonly referred to as Mambas, which were part of the convoy of five vehicles that took us to the battlefield, had difficulty making the way through.
We passed by two newly built, but now abandoned primary schools. Like many others, multi-mllion Anyalima Primary School lies deserted in the bush. But that’s another story.
On February 4, the UPDF and LRA fought four hours of running battles in a flat expanse of woodland measuring about twenty square kilometres. Between them is River Agago that separates Lango and Acholi sub-regions, both surrounded by Ouke and Adilang hills.
This is the place that Kony rebels have used as a springboard to attack the neighbouring areas including the raids on Abia and Bar-lonyo.
It was the mobile headquarters of the newly appointed LRA army commander Brigadier Raska Lukwiya. It is here that the army killed Lukwiya’s predecessor, Brigadier Yardin Nyeko and LRA chief spy Brigadier Caesar Accellam recently.
It's also here that the army had a fierce battle with the Kony rebels last Thursday. A pungent smell greeted us when we visited the area. My eye first fell on the body of a boy of about 15 years. He was clad in an oversize military uniform. Next were the wife of Raska Lukwiya and her 5 year-old child.
Another child of Lukwiya, Oroma Lukwiya, 4, was lucky. Oblivious of the death, pain and anguish around him, young Lukwiya asked the UPDF soldiers for his father.
“I am called Dr. Lukwiya,†the boy said, much to the amusement of the soldiers. Oroma’s keeper was Filda Adong, 14, who served as a baby-sitter. Adong was able to identify the dead, including Lukwiya’s bodyguards, Olanya and Oola.
Adong said Raska escaped by removing his military uniforms to avoid being targeted by the MI-24 helicopter gunship, which is credited for the arm’'s current success against the rebels.
A total of 39 rebels were killed, among them Raska’s aide Major James Ojok and an unidentified captain.
The army also rescued two of the five girls abducted from Bar-lonyo on February 21.
The girls, aged between 12 and 16, looked scared. One of them, Dorcas, 15, is pregnant.
Most of the dead had civilian clothes under the military ones. Some of the men wore dresses.
Those rescued said whenever the helicopter gunship struck, military uniforms would be thrown away. The 81 Battalion commander, Major Ben Serwanda, was a happy man after the operation.
“I spotted footmarks and followed them to their mobile headquarters. It was a hit-on-manoeuvre-mission. I called for air support when I found out that the rebels were many,†he said.
Serwadda's boss, Lt. Col. Patrick Kamkiriho, commander of the 401 Brigade, said, “I am not bothered where the rebels hide because I know that hunger will force them to come out to look for food. We trail or hit them when they come out in search of food.†The army displayed captured items, including an SPG-9 gun, which destroys the bulletproofed Mamba and buffalo vehicles.
Commenting about the SPG-9 gun, the Army commander, Maj.Gen. Nyakairima Aronda, said, “This is the big gun the rebels used in the Bar-lonyo massacres. Now that we have captured it, they are finished.â€
Another12.7mm anti-aircraft gun was recovered. This is the fourth to be captured since January. A big solar panel was found with a captured rebel, Sam Olanya, 13, who said he was abducted two years ago. Seven Short Machine Guns (SMG) were recovered with 15 full magazines.
Two new pairs of Amuka uniforms were found. The army was puzzled how the uniforms reached there.
Rasta Lukwiya threw his Motorola walkie-talkie, which kept receiving information, including one allegedly from Kony. “Kony is looking for Rasta but Rasta has no communication gadgets on him," Serwadda said.
The army is optimistic that with the anti-LRA mobilisation in Sudan, the rebels will soon be vanquished.
"What used to be safe havens for Kony in Sudan are longer safe. His end is near,†army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said.
ORUM trading centre in Otuke county is 63km north of Lira town. For over a year now, Orum has been home to a large population of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled the marauding Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
The road to Orum passes through Abia, where LRA rebels killed 47 civilians on February 4. The once robust village lies in ruins. This is replicated elsewhere. Abandoned grass thatched homesteads and churches lie in a shambles.
Corrugated iron-roofed houses, with broken doors and missing windows, stick out of the bushes like sore thumbs.
Perhaps a painful reminder that if most of the houses were not grass-thatched, LRA’s destruction putsch would not have been so devastating. But it's just that; perhaps.
Not far from Abia is Bar-lonyo, the scene of the February 21 massacre of about 200 people.
Some 63km away on the dusty but well-surfaced murram is Orum, another microcosm of northern Uganda.
The 30km-sketch from Orum to Got-Ojwang was once neatly graded, but now the murram has given way to grass and thickets.
Even the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) commonly referred to as Mambas, which were part of the convoy of five vehicles that took us to the battlefield, had difficulty making the way through.
We passed by two newly built, but now abandoned primary schools. Like many others, multi-mllion Anyalima Primary School lies deserted in the bush. But that’s another story.
On February 4, the UPDF and LRA fought four hours of running battles in a flat expanse of woodland measuring about twenty square kilometres. Between them is River Agago that separates Lango and Acholi sub-regions, both surrounded by Ouke and Adilang hills.
This is the place that Kony rebels have used as a springboard to attack the neighbouring areas including the raids on Abia and Bar-lonyo.
It was the mobile headquarters of the newly appointed LRA army commander Brigadier Raska Lukwiya. It is here that the army killed Lukwiya’s predecessor, Brigadier Yardin Nyeko and LRA chief spy Brigadier Caesar Accellam recently.
It's also here that the army had a fierce battle with the Kony rebels last Thursday. A pungent smell greeted us when we visited the area. My eye first fell on the body of a boy of about 15 years. He was clad in an oversize military uniform. Next were the wife of Raska Lukwiya and her 5 year-old child.
Another child of Lukwiya, Oroma Lukwiya, 4, was lucky. Oblivious of the death, pain and anguish around him, young Lukwiya asked the UPDF soldiers for his father.
“I am called Dr. Lukwiya,†the boy said, much to the amusement of the soldiers. Oroma’s keeper was Filda Adong, 14, who served as a baby-sitter. Adong was able to identify the dead, including Lukwiya’s bodyguards, Olanya and Oola.
Adong said Raska escaped by removing his military uniforms to avoid being targeted by the MI-24 helicopter gunship, which is credited for the arm’'s current success against the rebels.
A total of 39 rebels were killed, among them Raska’s aide Major James Ojok and an unidentified captain.
The army also rescued two of the five girls abducted from Bar-lonyo on February 21.
The girls, aged between 12 and 16, looked scared. One of them, Dorcas, 15, is pregnant.
Most of the dead had civilian clothes under the military ones. Some of the men wore dresses.
Those rescued said whenever the helicopter gunship struck, military uniforms would be thrown away. The 81 Battalion commander, Major Ben Serwanda, was a happy man after the operation.
“I spotted footmarks and followed them to their mobile headquarters. It was a hit-on-manoeuvre-mission. I called for air support when I found out that the rebels were many,†he said.
Serwadda's boss, Lt. Col. Patrick Kamkiriho, commander of the 401 Brigade, said, “I am not bothered where the rebels hide because I know that hunger will force them to come out to look for food. We trail or hit them when they come out in search of food.†The army displayed captured items, including an SPG-9 gun, which destroys the bulletproofed Mamba and buffalo vehicles.
Commenting about the SPG-9 gun, the Army commander, Maj.Gen. Nyakairima Aronda, said, “This is the big gun the rebels used in the Bar-lonyo massacres. Now that we have captured it, they are finished.â€
Another12.7mm anti-aircraft gun was recovered. This is the fourth to be captured since January. A big solar panel was found with a captured rebel, Sam Olanya, 13, who said he was abducted two years ago. Seven Short Machine Guns (SMG) were recovered with 15 full magazines.
Two new pairs of Amuka uniforms were found. The army was puzzled how the uniforms reached there.
Rasta Lukwiya threw his Motorola walkie-talkie, which kept receiving information, including one allegedly from Kony. “Kony is looking for Rasta but Rasta has no communication gadgets on him," Serwadda said.
The army is optimistic that with the anti-LRA mobilisation in Sudan, the rebels will soon be vanquished.
"What used to be safe havens for Kony in Sudan are longer safe. His end is near,†army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said.