PRESIDENTIAL GUARD BEATS KONY AMBUSH
THE Presidential Guard Brigade, now in Soroti, yesterday scattered an LRA rebel ambush at Katini on the Soroti-Lira road.
By Ali Mao & Richard Komakech
THE Presidential Guard Brigade, now in Soroti, yesterday scattered an LRA rebel ambush at Katini on the Soroti-Lira road.
President Yoweri Museveni has been camping in Soroti for the last two-and-a half weeks overseeing the army operations against the rebels in the region.
Yesterday, Museveni spent most of the day at Okiror shooting range outside Soroti town. In the afternoon, he visited Atitir, the scene of the recent rebel ambush on a Gateway bus in which 22 people were killed.
On reaching Katini, two kilometres from Atitir, the advance party of the presidential brigade found that the rebels had ambushed a merchant Tata lorry number UAD 878C, travelling from Soroti to Lira. Two people on the lorry had been killed, and a third injured.
The presidential convoy arrived in time to rescue the injured and joined in engaging the rebels who scattered into nearby bushes.
Two mambas of the UPDF motorised brigade under the command of Major Nambale had already engaged the rebels in an exchange in which one UPDF soldier died.
Presidential press secretary Mary Okurut told The New Vision on telephone yesterday that Museveni assured the people that security would be restored in the area when he spoke at Atitir trading centre.
He said adequate deployment of forces in the area is being done and people would soon return to their villages.
The President also visited Soroti Hospital to console survivors of the Gateway bus tragedy, and those injured yesterday.
UPDF chief of staff, Brigadier Nakibus Lakara, accompanied Museveni.
Meanwhile, the rebels on Wednesday ambushed the UPDF’s armoured infantry vehicles, two kilometres from Acholibur on Pajule Road in Pader district, an army spokesman has said.
Second-Lieutenant Chris Magezi, the army spokesman for the 5th Division, said on telephone that the UPDF Mamba and Buffalo were moving from Acholibur to Pader town when they fell into an ambush at 8:00pm.
“They never succeeded in their mission when our fighting vehicle returned heavy fire, repulsing the attackers and killing two rebels on the spot. We captured two enemies and recovered one sub-machine gun,†he said yesterday.
Magezi said a group of rebels commanded by Col. Charles Odhiambo who sneaked back to Uganda last Sunday, tried to cross Kitgum-Palabek road but were intercepted by a UPDF patrol unit, killing three of them. Another gun was also recovered.
THE Presidential Guard Brigade, now in Soroti, yesterday scattered an LRA rebel ambush at Katini on the Soroti-Lira road.
President Yoweri Museveni has been camping in Soroti for the last two-and-a half weeks overseeing the army operations against the rebels in the region.
Yesterday, Museveni spent most of the day at Okiror shooting range outside Soroti town. In the afternoon, he visited Atitir, the scene of the recent rebel ambush on a Gateway bus in which 22 people were killed.
On reaching Katini, two kilometres from Atitir, the advance party of the presidential brigade found that the rebels had ambushed a merchant Tata lorry number UAD 878C, travelling from Soroti to Lira. Two people on the lorry had been killed, and a third injured.
The presidential convoy arrived in time to rescue the injured and joined in engaging the rebels who scattered into nearby bushes.
Two mambas of the UPDF motorised brigade under the command of Major Nambale had already engaged the rebels in an exchange in which one UPDF soldier died.
Presidential press secretary Mary Okurut told The New Vision on telephone yesterday that Museveni assured the people that security would be restored in the area when he spoke at Atitir trading centre.
He said adequate deployment of forces in the area is being done and people would soon return to their villages.
The President also visited Soroti Hospital to console survivors of the Gateway bus tragedy, and those injured yesterday.
UPDF chief of staff, Brigadier Nakibus Lakara, accompanied Museveni.
Meanwhile, the rebels on Wednesday ambushed the UPDF’s armoured infantry vehicles, two kilometres from Acholibur on Pajule Road in Pader district, an army spokesman has said.
Second-Lieutenant Chris Magezi, the army spokesman for the 5th Division, said on telephone that the UPDF Mamba and Buffalo were moving from Acholibur to Pader town when they fell into an ambush at 8:00pm.
“They never succeeded in their mission when our fighting vehicle returned heavy fire, repulsing the attackers and killing two rebels on the spot. We captured two enemies and recovered one sub-machine gun,†he said yesterday.
Magezi said a group of rebels commanded by Col. Charles Odhiambo who sneaked back to Uganda last Sunday, tried to cross Kitgum-Palabek road but were intercepted by a UPDF patrol unit, killing three of them. Another gun was also recovered.