'At least 20 rebels killed'
2004-01-17 17:04
Kampala, Uganda - Government soldiers have killed at least 20 rebels during clashes in northern Uganda during the past week, an army spokesperson said on Saturday.
The army killed the rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army during gun battles while pursuing the insurgents in three northern districts - Pader, Kitgum and Lira, said 2nd Lt. Chris Magezi.
One government soldier was killed, he said.
Magezi said government forces were continuing to pursue insurgents in the region, but he did not give further details.
It was not possible to contact the rebels, who rarely make contact with the outside world.
Led by Joseph Kony, who claims to have spiritual powers, the Lord's Resistance Army is a shadowy organisation that has been fighting President Yoweri Museveni, a southerner, since he came to power in 1986 after a five-year bush war.
The rebels have wreaked havoc across northern and northeastern Uganda, forcing an estimated 1 million people to flee their homes. The group replenishes its ranks with children it abducts to use as fighters, porters or concubines.
Magezi said 97 people - mainly children - abducted by the rebels were rescued during the past week's fighting.
"There's relative calm in the area and the army is continuing to pursue these rebels," he said by telephone from Lira, about 270 kilometres north of Kampala.
- AP