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Bashir
Declares Kony A Terrorist
By Alfred Wasike
SUDAN has declared Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels
terrorists and its enemies.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF)
yesterday announced that President Omar El-Bashir,
whose country has harboured Kony
and his terror organisation for 17 years, issued
the condemnation during a meeting with Uganda’s defence
minister Amama Mbabazi.
Mbabazi was in Khartoum on Wednesday to deliver a message
from President Yoweri Museveni.
Uganda and Sudan have renewed, for three more months
starting March 1, the protocol that allows the UPDF to pursue Kony into Sudan. The deal was first done in early
2002 as a precursor to the anti-LRA Operation Iron Fist.
Bashir sent condolences to President Museveni and Uganda for the 200 people massacred by the
LRA rebels at Barlonyo on February 22.
Mbabazi’s statement to the weekly media
briefing yesterday reads, “The President of Sudan was happy with the
consolidation of the existing cooperation in defence.
He reiterated his government’s commitment to rid Sudan of Kony and his band of terrorists whom he declared as
enemies of Sudan.”
The briefing was moderated by information minister James Nsaba Buturo, who challenged
government critics to produce Kony for talks to
end the conflict.
Others at the briefing were the Minister of State for Security, Betty Akech, and the Police spokesperson, Asuman
Mugenyi, who warned unregistered political
parties against holding public rallies.
Army spokesman Shaban Bantariza
said the Sudanese defence minister, Maj. Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, met Mbabazi’s
delegation that included the Chief of Staff, Brig. Joshua Masaba and the Chief of Military Intelligence, Col.
Noble Mayombo, at Khartoum airport.
Ends
Published
on: Friday,
5th March, 2004
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