Uganda denies supporting Sudanese rebels
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan officials said Wednesday that a fresh allegation by Sudan that Uganda supports anti-Sudan rebels is a tactic to divert attention from Uganda's claim that Sudan is sheltering warlord Joseph Kony.
James Mugume, permanent secretary at Uganda's Foreign Affairs Ministry, said a formal complaint was made this week by the Sudanese embassy in Uganda.
"It's mere rhetoric," Mugume said. "We have asked the Sudanese to send us a team which we can discuss with. Let them send a team here with clear allegations, with proof that we can deal with."
Ugandan army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye said Sudan's allegation was an effort to get even with Uganda, where diplomats and security officials are increasingly accusing Khartoum of renewing its support for Kony's brutal Lord's Resistance Army.
"We kept quiet until we got human intelligence that Khartoum was again supporting the LRA," Kulayigye said. "They are the ones who have an agenda. They have not produced any evidence."
Ugandan officials now say Kony is no longer hiding in the Central African Republic, where Ugandan troops have been hunting for him since 2009. They cite as evidence the account of a captured LRA rebel who wore a new uniform he said was supplied by Sudan.
U.S. President Barack Obama sent 100 U.S. forces into Central Africa last year to help regional militaries track Kony, and an online campaign this year by the advocacy group Invisible Children made Kony a YouTube sensation.
Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, overall commander of the Ugandan army, told a meeting of regional chiefs last month that Uganda would "not sit back" and do nothing if South Sudan and Sudan went to war over an unresolved border conflict.
Uganda has long accused Khartoum of supporting the LRA in retaliation for Kampala's support for the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the southern rebel movement that is now the South Sudan military.
Sudan denies ever supporting Kony.
Some analysts believe Sudan is making the allegation against Uganda to avoid losing a propaganda war.
"The counterclaim is to tie Uganda's hands in the diplomatic game and in the rhetoric," said Angelo Izama, a Kampala-based political analyst with the security think tank Fanaka Kwawote. "This is important for Khartoum because it makes sure that Uganda does not take the moral high ground."
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Newer articles:
- African Markets - Factors to watch on May 10 - Reuters - 10/05/2012 09:02
- S. Sudan launches conflict early warning and response unit - Sudan Tribune - 10/05/2012 06:00
- South Sudan accuses Khartoum of more border attacks - Chicago Tribune - 10/05/2012 05:12
- South Sudan may face fiscal collapse by July, leaked report says - Los Angeles Times - 10/05/2012 00:00
- India's Karuturi eyes Ethiopia exports to S.Sudan, Kenya - Reuters - 09/05/2012 19:01
Older news items
- South Sudan Accuses Sudan of More Airstrikes - Voice of America - 09/05/2012 18:00
- Cecafa welcomes South Sudan - SuperSport.com (blog) - 09/05/2012 16:51
- Sudan War Planes Bomb South Sudan, Violating UN Resolution: Army - Jakarta Globe - 09/05/2012 15:17
- Music video by South Sudanese singer Yaba Angelosi - Christian Science Monitor - 09/05/2012 14:41
- Official: Sudan warplanes bomb South Sudan - La Crosse Tribune - 09/05/2012 14:30
Latest news items (all categories):
- UNICEF - Programme Associate, GS-6, Fixed Term, Juba South Sudan #44495 (for South Sudanese only) - 16/09/2024 13:34
- Has South Sudan ‘legitimized’ a new era of government by extension and not election? - 16/09/2024 13:24
- High Stakes for the South Sudan Talks in Kenya - 16/09/2024 13:02
- South Sudan Pound Narrows Gap With Street Rate After Central Bank Interventions - 16/09/2024 13:00
- Thousands of Sudanese refugees in South Sudan face hunger and disease - 16/09/2024 12:52
See also (all categories):
Random articles (all categories):
- UN warns South Sudan's Kiir over Machar replacement - 26/07/2016 14:08
- South Sudan: Force Protection map (as of August 2020) - 06/08/2020 02:08
- Sudan, South Sudan leaders discuss border, oil disputes - China Daily - 15/07/2012 21:05
- South Sudan minors’ rights violated despite peace deal - 17/03/2023 07:28
- No Vote Next Year, Says South Sudan Government - 12/05/2014 16:26
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 47870 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22089 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21163 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 18458 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 16080 times