Uganda Army Seeks More Funding To Flush LRA Rebels Out of Congo, CAR
Publié le 06 Mai 2010 Copyright © 2010 Dowjones - KAMPALA Uganda -(Dow Jones)-
The Ugandan army wants the government to increase its budget allocation to enable it to pursue and flush out remnants of the notorious rebels of Lord's Resistance Army from northeastern Congo and the Central African Republic, Uganda's defense minister said.
Crispus Kiyonga said in a ministerial presentation to Parliament Wednesday that the army requires an additional budget allocation of 25 billion Ugandan shillings ($12.5 million) in the current fiscal year ending in June to boost its logistical supplies and pursue the LRA in the resource-rich areas.
"This funding is required as a matter of urgency; the LRA is still active in Congo and the Central African Republic," he said, adding that the money would be spent to buy soldiers' uniforms, medicine and arms.
The Ugandan army has already been allocated UGX457 billion for the current fiscal year.
The LRA has waged an insurgency, targeting mainly civilians in northern Uganda, northeastern Congo as well as the Central African Republic for over two decades and its leader, Joseph Kony, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
According to analysts, the continued presence of Ugandan rebels in the volatile eastern and northeastern areas of Congo is a threat to security in Uganda's oil-rich Lake Albert basin, where commercial oil production is slated to start later next year.
Mediators are also trying to convince the remnants of the Allied Democratic Forces, which has bases in eastern Congo, to sign a peace accord with government ahead of planned oil production. In 2007, the ADF invaded the oil region but was swiftly repulsed by the Ugandan army.
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