Ugandan rebels attack in southern Sudan

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 13 June 2006: 08.55 CET) – Rebels believed to belong to the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have attacked the outskirts of the southern Sudanese city of Juba, killing nine people, news agencies reported.

Witnesses told reporters that the attackers were members of the LRA, which has fought a 19-year campaign in Uganda and operates from bases in southern Sudan as it seeks to overthrow the Ugandan government.

The LRA has inflicted brutal violence on the population in northern Uganda, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder.

LRA leaders arrived in Juba just before the attack at the invitation of south Sudan’s vice president, Riek Machar, who has offered to mediate peace talks between the rebels and the Ugandan government, the BBC reported on Monday.

The invitation was harshly criticized by Uganda and the international community, which view the LRA as war criminals who should be arrested and tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Machar also reportedly was shown on television giving cash to LRA leaders to reimburse them for their travel expenses.
(By ISN Security Watch staff, BBC)