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Sudan Stops Support to Ugandan Rebels: President
Sudanese President Omar el Bashir has announced total withdrawal of his government's support to Ugandan rebels led by Joseph Kony, the New Vision newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Bashir, who is attending the on-going Global 2001 SMART Partnership Dialogue here, was quoted as saying on Monday that the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have re-located to the areas not controlled by his government.
"We have no access and control over Joseph Kony. He is now outside the territory which used to be controlled by the government. Because we have stopped assistance to him, Kony has now started conducting operations against our government," Bashir said.
Uganda severed diplomatic ties with the Sudan in 1995, accusing it of sponsoring terrorist groups fighting the Ugandan government.
According to Bashir, "the Ugandan and Sudanese governments have reached an agreement regarding the LRA presence in the Sudan. The LRA no longer exists in the form it used to be. We are proceeding towards a new era based on the fact that the Sudan is not supporting any opposition group in the region."
He admitted that his government supported Kony in retaliation for Uganda' s alleged support to the southern Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
"On the previous relationship, we used to support the LRA. We used to provide them with logistics, ammunition and everything. That was a response to support Uganda used to give to the SPLA. But now the situation is different because both parties are committed to peace," Bashir said. He called upon the Ugandan government to reciprocate by stopping any kind of assistance to the SPLA.
He said since the signing of the 1999 Nairobi peace accord with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Kony's operations have been unsuccessful.
The Nairobi accord entailed cessation of assistance for each other's rebel groups, exchanges of diplomats and the return of children abducted by the LRA from northern Uganda.
Bashir said his government has repatriated 300 abductees with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund.
The two countries recently agreed to restore diplomatic relations at the level of charge d'affairs while preparations for the restoration of full diplomatic relations are being worked out.
Bashir denied supporting the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels who have been operating from the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda.
"They are situated far away from the Sudanese borders. We don't have any direct contact with them. We don't have any information on them. We don't even know whether they exist or not," he said.
He said the allegation that Sudan supports the ADF was based on a religious belief.
Bashir disclosed that after his talks with Museveni, they agreed that Sudan Airways will resume flights between Entebbe and Khartoum.
Museveni has agreed to visit Khartoum this year, he said, adding that his government is waiting for Uganda to send envoys to re-open its embassy in Khartoum.
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