DATE=12/11/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=UGANDA/REBELS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257068
BYLINE=JENNIFER WIENS
DATELINE=NAIROBI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Uganda, rebels from the Allied Democratic
Forces have launched a series of attacks over the past
three days. As Jennifer Wiens reports from V-O-A's
East African bureau, the attacks come despite a recent
amnesty offer from the Ugandan government.
TEXT: Fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces
attacked a police barracks in western Uganda early
Saturday. Police and rebels battled for about two
hours in the town of Bundibugyo, about 290 kilometers
from the capital, Kampala.
Police officials say the A-D-F fighters were driven
back after four rebels were killed. One policeman was
reported injured.
It marked the third attack in three days by the A-D-F.
/// Opt /// On Friday, four government soldiers and
six rebels died in fighting near military detachments
in Bundibugyo district. On Thursday, the A-D-F raided
a prison in the town of Fort Portal, freeing 365
prisoners and killing five people. /// End Opt ///
The upsurge in rebel activity comes despite recent
efforts by the Ugandan government to end the
insurgency. Just last week, the Ugandan parliament
passed an amnesty law that gives a full pardon to
rebels who turn in their weapons.
And this week in Nairobi, Uganda and Sudan signed an
agreement to stop supporting rebel groups operating in
each other's countries.
Both the agreement with Sudan and the amnesty indicate
a change in policy toward the rebels by Uganda's
president, Yoweri Museveni. For years, President
Museveni said he could beat the rebels with the
military.
But despite massive military spending, the army has
not been able to stamp out the A-D-F, and the Ugandan
government is now trying to end the rebellion by
diplomatic and political means such as the new amnesty
law.
But the A-D-F rebels appear to be spurning the amnesty
offer. A-D-F spokesman Rogers Kabanda told the
Independent Monitor newspaper that these latest
attacks demonstrate the A-D-F is still a viable force
and that it intends to continue its fight against the
government.
The A-D-F has been trying for the last three years to
oust President Museveni. The rebel group is led by
Islamic militants and gets much of its support from
the Muslim Sudanese government.
/// Opt /// Operating out of bases in western Uganda
and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
the A-D-F is notorious for its practice of abducting
children and forcing them to serve as soldiers. ///
End Opt ///
Uganda's government is also fighting another rebel
group, the Lord's Resistance Army, based in northern
Uganda. Fighting between Uganda's military and the
two rebel groups has displaced more than 400-thousand
people in western and northern Uganda. (Signed)
NEB/JW/ALW/JP
11-Dec-1999 13:32 PM EDT (11-Dec-1999 1832 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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