Guerrilla22
30th July 2004, 07:26
Ugandan Troops Launch Attack in Sudan
Updated 1:50 AM ET July 30, 2004
By GEOFFREY MULEME
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Ugandan troops attacked the headquarters of a rebel group inside Sudan, killing at least 120 fighters, the military said Thursday.
The assault came as prosecutors from the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands launched an investigation into alleged atrocities by both sides in the 18-year insurgency.
The army attacked the Lord's Resistance Army headquarters in the southern Sudan city of Biliniang on Wednesday hoping to capture the group's leader, Joseph Kony, Major Shaban Bantariza said. He said it was unclear whether Kony was among those killed or if he escaped.
He said his troops had Sudan's approval to pursue the rebels near Biliniang, which is east of southern Sudan's main town of Juba.
There were no casualties among the Ugandan troops, Bantariza said.
Little is known about the rebel group's political agenda, except that it wants to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni and replace the Ugandan constitution with the Ten Commandments.
The group is known for kidnapping thousands of children for use as child soldiers or concubines. Fighters regularly raid villages, killing civilians. More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in fear of such attacks.
The investigators from the International Criminal Court said the case will initially focus on the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, but the case will not be limited to a single side in the conflict.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To sum up what happened here: the Lord's Resistance Army is a fundamentalist Christian para military group that is dedicated to overthrowing the government of Uganda. The LRA is supported by the Sudanese government, which is fundamentalist Islamic. Crazy, I know.
Updated 1:50 AM ET July 30, 2004
By GEOFFREY MULEME
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Ugandan troops attacked the headquarters of a rebel group inside Sudan, killing at least 120 fighters, the military said Thursday.
The assault came as prosecutors from the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands launched an investigation into alleged atrocities by both sides in the 18-year insurgency.
The army attacked the Lord's Resistance Army headquarters in the southern Sudan city of Biliniang on Wednesday hoping to capture the group's leader, Joseph Kony, Major Shaban Bantariza said. He said it was unclear whether Kony was among those killed or if he escaped.
He said his troops had Sudan's approval to pursue the rebels near Biliniang, which is east of southern Sudan's main town of Juba.
There were no casualties among the Ugandan troops, Bantariza said.
Little is known about the rebel group's political agenda, except that it wants to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni and replace the Ugandan constitution with the Ten Commandments.
The group is known for kidnapping thousands of children for use as child soldiers or concubines. Fighters regularly raid villages, killing civilians. More than 1.5 million people have fled their homes in fear of such attacks.
The investigators from the International Criminal Court said the case will initially focus on the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, but the case will not be limited to a single side in the conflict.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
To sum up what happened here: the Lord's Resistance Army is a fundamentalist Christian para military group that is dedicated to overthrowing the government of Uganda. The LRA is supported by the Sudanese government, which is fundamentalist Islamic. Crazy, I know.