LRA and not UPDF should leave South Sudan
Jul 16, 2008
THE vice-president of the Government of South Sudan, Riek Machar, recently accused the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) of masquerading as Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and carrying out a raid in the Eastern Equatorial Province on June 14.
Chris Magezi
THE vice-president of the Government of South Sudan, Riek Machar, recently accused the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) of masquerading as Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and carrying out a raid in the Eastern Equatorial Province on June 14.
However, investigations have failed to locate the body or grave of Moga Mandara, the alleged victim. Machar’s only evidence was the UPDF back pack found by the Sudan Peoples’ Liberalisation Army (SPLA) on the tracks.
Consequently, he said president Salva Kiir had instructed the SPLA chief of staff, Gen Oyai Deng Ajak, to inform Ugandan authorities that the UPDF should leave. However, our government is yet to receive any communication to that effect.
The UPDF has stayed in Sudan to fight the LRA since 2002 following an agreement with Khortoum, which the government of South Sudan later endorsed. Our stay or departure from South Sudan will be discussed at the highest political level between Kampala, Khartoum and Juba.
The UPDF has had good relations with the SPLA and civilians during the last six years. The two armies share intelligence information and conduct joint operations against the LRA. We also have a history of solidarity in the resistance against Arabisation of the black southerners. Uganda has also hosted several Sudanese refugees for decades. Why then would the UPDF now choose to hurt the people of South Sudan?
The June 14 incident was not a surprise. On June 5, LRA rebels attacked Nabanga, killing 26 people including 14 SPLA soldiers.
The rebels hastily retreated in the face of UPDF and SPLA deployments. They crossed the Nile westwards after ransacking Pageri village and abducting Mandara who is still missing. Our routine joint meetings with the SPLA local commanders and civilians on June 25 confirmed these reports.
If one UPDF soldier was found guilty, that would not call for expulsion of the entire force because the UPDF has a good record of enforcing discipline.
The LRA have attacked the Sudanese for several years and they continue to ignore the Cessation of Hostilities agreement mediated by Machar himself. The tracks where the backpack was picked by the SPLA three days later did not end in a UPDF detachment but on the Nile River which the LRA crossed on their way back to Garamba Forest. Therefore, the marching orders should be directed at the LRA and not the UPDF.
The writer is the acting
Defence/UPDF Spokesman
THE vice-president of the Government of South Sudan, Riek Machar, recently accused the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) of masquerading as Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and carrying out a raid in the Eastern Equatorial Province on June 14.
However, investigations have failed to locate the body or grave of Moga Mandara, the alleged victim. Machar’s only evidence was the UPDF back pack found by the Sudan Peoples’ Liberalisation Army (SPLA) on the tracks.
Consequently, he said president Salva Kiir had instructed the SPLA chief of staff, Gen Oyai Deng Ajak, to inform Ugandan authorities that the UPDF should leave. However, our government is yet to receive any communication to that effect.
The UPDF has stayed in Sudan to fight the LRA since 2002 following an agreement with Khortoum, which the government of South Sudan later endorsed. Our stay or departure from South Sudan will be discussed at the highest political level between Kampala, Khartoum and Juba.
The UPDF has had good relations with the SPLA and civilians during the last six years. The two armies share intelligence information and conduct joint operations against the LRA. We also have a history of solidarity in the resistance against Arabisation of the black southerners. Uganda has also hosted several Sudanese refugees for decades. Why then would the UPDF now choose to hurt the people of South Sudan?
The June 14 incident was not a surprise. On June 5, LRA rebels attacked Nabanga, killing 26 people including 14 SPLA soldiers.
The rebels hastily retreated in the face of UPDF and SPLA deployments. They crossed the Nile westwards after ransacking Pageri village and abducting Mandara who is still missing. Our routine joint meetings with the SPLA local commanders and civilians on June 25 confirmed these reports.
If one UPDF soldier was found guilty, that would not call for expulsion of the entire force because the UPDF has a good record of enforcing discipline.
The LRA have attacked the Sudanese for several years and they continue to ignore the Cessation of Hostilities agreement mediated by Machar himself. The tracks where the backpack was picked by the SPLA three days later did not end in a UPDF detachment but on the Nile River which the LRA crossed on their way back to Garamba Forest. Therefore, the marching orders should be directed at the LRA and not the UPDF.
The writer is the acting
Defence/UPDF Spokesman