Lango Web

By Geoffrey Omara in Gulu, February 28, 2009

The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) this weekend airlifted five former captives of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA, from Dungu in DRC to Yambio in South Sudan. Three of them are women, two of whom had given birth to a child each. The third woman is believed to be about three months pregnant.

The abductees have been identified as Victoria Geriwa; an 18 year old mother of two, abducted in 2006 from Maridi. Isaac John, 20, from Ezo, abducted in March 2008; Lojong John, 15, from Lanya, abducted in 2008; Nyangi Gislan, 16, from Lanya, abducted in 2007 and Rozeta Boro-tira-nite, 17, from Source Yubu in Tambura County, she was abducted in 2008.  At the time of her rescue, Nyangi was breastfeeding an 8 month old baby.

Captain Deo Akiiki, the spokesperson for the joint force said the joint operation has now rescued 265 abductees from Sudan, DRC and Central African Republic. He said 70 of the abductees are from Southern Sudan and some have been handed over to the state government of Western Equatoria State.

Captain Ronald Kakurungu, the northern Uganda UPDF spokesperson yesterday said the achievement of the joint operation is increasing day by day. He says the Army’s intelligence has established that LRA leader Joseph Kony and his second in Command Okot Odhiambo are no longer in touch.

He said: "The two phases of the fighting using air and ground assaults have succeeded in killing 46 LRA forces using the ground operations and the aerial phase have killed more than one hundred, as it is difficult to count those ones."

Kakurungu refuted claims that Kony had sent his two wives to the UPDF saying the two women were wives to Okot Odhiambo who were wounded in fighting. He says they are undergoing treatment in Dungu tactical headquarter.