LRA still 100km from Owiny Kibul
Jan 07, 2007
BRIGADIER Dominic Ogwen, one of the top commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, has finally managed to elude the joint UPDF and SPLA forces to cross the River Nile north of Juba.
By Emmy Allio and Justin Moro
BRIGADIER Dominic Ogwen, one of the top commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, has finally managed to elude the joint UPDF and SPLA forces to cross the River Nile north of Juba.
Ongwen, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, is now headed for Garamba National Park in the DR Congo to join his fellow indicted commanders, Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo.
In a related development, sources close to the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team have revealed that the LRA group, which was supposed to assemble at Owiny Kibul under the ceasefire agreement, has instead passed the assembly point and is at least 100 kilometres away.
The nearest LRA unit is reportedly at Mogari, about 116km north of Juba, on the eastern bank of River Nile. Other LRA units north of Juba are in Liria and Mondolai and villages towards Bor.
The deadline for the LRA to assemble has been extended three times. Last December, it was extended for another two months, up to the end of February.
But again, there is little sign that the LRA is complying.
The ceasefire monitoring team visited Owiny Kibul three times recently and found only CARITAS staff there, waiting with food and water meant for the rebels.
“The rebels are nowhere in the designated areas or in its vicinity. There is only one battalion of
SPLA soldiers in Owiny Kibul to protect any LRA soldiers who surrender,†the source said.
Ongwen, who was the most senior LRA commander on the eastern bank of the Nile, crossed with about 50 escorts through a narrow section of the river north of Juba on Friday. Another LRA commander, Brig. Ceasar Accellam, is still attempting to cross.
Joint UPDF and SPLA operations had prevented Ongwen from linking up with Kony since 2005, security sources said.
The Government yesterday said that Ongwen’s mission to join Kony constitutes a serious violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
“If it is true that they have crossed the Nile, then this is a blatant violation of the agreement. The monitoring team must immediately verify and alert the mediators to take action,†said Capt. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for the Ugandan delegation at the peace talks.
Because of the increasing number of ambushes inside Sudan and the LRA’s refusal to assemble, the UPDF has deployed more troops and beefed up security measures at the Uganda-Sudan border.
In another development, the SPLA on Friday introduced a system of driving in convoys on the Nimule-Juba road, in an attempt to limit the risk of ambushes on passenger vehicles.
Last Friday, traders dealing in perishable goods like cabbages and pineapple, lost millions of shillings when their goods perished in Nimule, as they were stranded for days because the stretch to Juba was considered insecure.
The introduction of convoys followed the most recent ambushes, on January 1 and 2, in which 13 civilians, including two Ugandan businessmen, were killed.
BRIGADIER Dominic Ogwen, one of the top commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, has finally managed to elude the joint UPDF and SPLA forces to cross the River Nile north of Juba.
Ongwen, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, is now headed for Garamba National Park in the DR Congo to join his fellow indicted commanders, Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo.
In a related development, sources close to the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team have revealed that the LRA group, which was supposed to assemble at Owiny Kibul under the ceasefire agreement, has instead passed the assembly point and is at least 100 kilometres away.
The nearest LRA unit is reportedly at Mogari, about 116km north of Juba, on the eastern bank of River Nile. Other LRA units north of Juba are in Liria and Mondolai and villages towards Bor.
The deadline for the LRA to assemble has been extended three times. Last December, it was extended for another two months, up to the end of February.
But again, there is little sign that the LRA is complying.
The ceasefire monitoring team visited Owiny Kibul three times recently and found only CARITAS staff there, waiting with food and water meant for the rebels.
“The rebels are nowhere in the designated areas or in its vicinity. There is only one battalion of
SPLA soldiers in Owiny Kibul to protect any LRA soldiers who surrender,†the source said.
Ongwen, who was the most senior LRA commander on the eastern bank of the Nile, crossed with about 50 escorts through a narrow section of the river north of Juba on Friday. Another LRA commander, Brig. Ceasar Accellam, is still attempting to cross.
Joint UPDF and SPLA operations had prevented Ongwen from linking up with Kony since 2005, security sources said.
The Government yesterday said that Ongwen’s mission to join Kony constitutes a serious violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
“If it is true that they have crossed the Nile, then this is a blatant violation of the agreement. The monitoring team must immediately verify and alert the mediators to take action,†said Capt. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for the Ugandan delegation at the peace talks.
Because of the increasing number of ambushes inside Sudan and the LRA’s refusal to assemble, the UPDF has deployed more troops and beefed up security measures at the Uganda-Sudan border.
In another development, the SPLA on Friday introduced a system of driving in convoys on the Nimule-Juba road, in an attempt to limit the risk of ambushes on passenger vehicles.
Last Friday, traders dealing in perishable goods like cabbages and pineapple, lost millions of shillings when their goods perished in Nimule, as they were stranded for days because the stretch to Juba was considered insecure.
The introduction of convoys followed the most recent ambushes, on January 1 and 2, in which 13 civilians, including two Ugandan businessmen, were killed.