Ugandan army resumes operations against rebel group though peace talks go on

The Ugandan army has resumed military operations against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) despite the ongoing peace talks between the rebels and the government, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Maj. Felix Kulaigye confirmed that the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) has closed all the safe corridors allocated for the rebels to assemble at the designated zones in southern Sudan as per the August 26 truce agreement between government and the rebels.

According the army, since the agreement was signed and it expired on September 19, no rebel has assembled in the Owiny-ki- bul and Ri-Kwangba, the designated zones.

"We have got information from the monitoring team there are no LRA fighters in Owiny-ki-bul. We do not know where they are and their intentions," said Kulaigye, adding that the rebels have violated the truce agreement.

He said because of these developments, the army has resumed its operations against any rebel remnant that might be still in Uganda.

"We are not going to the designated zones but we are ready for them if there cross back to Uganda. Operations are now on against the LRA," he said.

However, Kulaigye said the resumption of military operation did not mean that the peace talks had ended.

"Though the talks are progressing, we also have the mandate to protecting Ugandans. We have to protect the country against any security threat," he said.

Last week, the UPDF Chief of Defense Force, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima warned the rebels will be under attack if they cross the River Nile in southern Sudan in a speculated attempt to join those who were supposed to assemble on the other side of Nile.

"Our memorandum of understanding with Sudan still stands and we are ready to engage the LRA," Gen. Nyakairima said.

Uganda and Sudan have an understanding which authorizes the UPDF to carry out operations against the LRA in southern Sudan.

The LRA have been fighting the Ugandan government for the last 20 years in a rebellion that has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million others homeless in northern Uganda.

The government of southern Sudan is currently mediating the talks between the government and the rebels in a bid to end what has been described as one of Africa's longest conflicts.

Source: Xinhua