Govt captures vehicles carrying LRA arms
By George Murumba
27th Sept 2010
The Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] rebels led by self-styled “General” Joseph Kony have been implicated in the murky business of international arms trafficking.
UN peacekeepers are patrolling the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] and Uganda after reports of arms trafficking by the LRA across the DRC and Southern Sudan.
The spokesperson of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC Lieutenant-Colonel Amadou Gueye told a weekly news briefing in Kinshasa on Sept 22nd that the “…concern stems from information on the seizure in Uganda of vehicles transporting arms. Measures to halt this traffic include first of all continuing to patrol this frontier with our units deployed in the sector”, he said.
In a Sept 25th press release however, the LRA denied any involvement in arms trafficking saying it was out of character for the LRA to transport their arms by trucks. “…This is a most mischievous lie. The LRA is not preparing for war. The LRA is committed to a peaceful resolution of the ‘northern’ Uganda conflict as communicated by its peace team to the UN Secretary General in its letter of September 6, 2010”, said the LRA press release.
The LRA further added that “…the arms currently in possession of the LRA are enough for its self-defence purposes. In any case it is out of character for the LRA to transport their arms by trucks. It is most unfortunate for MONUSCO to allow itself to be misused by the government of Uganda to make the case for and fan war instead of nurturing peace”.
The LRA has been accused of committing atrocities such as mutilations and recruitment of child soldiers in northern Uganda for nearly two decades. The alleged atrocities have now spilt over into neighbouring countries like Sudan, DRC, and Central African Republic. END. If it’s Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
