Sudan guards against LRA
2008-06-09 21:17
Juba - South Sudan will send more soldiers to the region bordering Democratic Republic of Congo to guard against further attacks by fugitive Lord's Resistance Army rebels, officials said on Monday.
The SPLA already has 3 000 troops in Western Equatoria State, where LRA fighters killed 23 people including 14 southern Sudanese soldiers in a raid last week that underlined the collapse of two years of peace talks hosted by the south.
"Instructions have been given to the headquarters of the SPLA to increase their presence," southern Interior Minister Paul Mayom told Reuters. "The LRA have proved to be a danger."
Mayom said the extra deployment was aimed at protecting civilians in the area who have often fallen victim of the LRA, which is notorious for mutilating its victims and abducting thousands of children as fighters, porters and sex slaves.
He said SPLA forces would not leave southern Sudan.
"We are ensuring they do not come into our country," Mayom said. "The war is in Uganda. They are supposed to be in Uganda."
Hidden camps in the Garamba Forest
Uganda's two-decade war uprooted two million people and also destabilised neighbouring parts of oil-producing southern Sudan and mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
But most of the LRA's forces now operate out of hidden camps deep in the thick Garamba Forest of northeastern Congo.
Their elusive leader Joseph Kony, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, failed to appear on the DRC-Congo border in April to sign a final peace deal.
Uganda, Sudan and the DRC have agreed to launch a joint military offensive against the rebels if Kony does not return to talks. But analysts believe such an attack would carry big risks for the forces involved, and would be likely to fail.
Mayom said the difficult terrain in the region - which is one of Africa's most inaccessible corners - made it hard to keep track of LRA fighters who move quickly on foot through the bush and are hardened from their long guerrilla campaign.
"You would be lying if you said you were absolutely sure there were none in southern Sudan," he said. "Any number can easily penetrate."