Six rebels killed in bush fire: Ugandan military
Six rebels killed in bush fire: Ugandanmilitary
05 December 2005
published by http://english.people.com.cn
Six rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) were burnt in a wild fire in their sick-bay in the war- ravaged district of Kitgum in northern Uganda.
Chris Magezi, army spokesman from the northern Uganda, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday that the burnt bodies with missing or fractured limbs and other bodily injuries were discovered by Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers on Friday while carrying out a cordon, search and destroy operation against the rebels.
He said the rebels had eluded the UPDF, but failed to run away from the raging bush fires.
“These rebels are found of starting these fires, this time round it caught up with them and they were burnt to death,” Magezi said.
Meanwhile Magezi said that four LRA rebels who were part of the group that killed a British tourist early last month have surrendered to the authorities.
On November 8, a British tourist was shot dead during an ambush at Wankwangon Karuma-Pakwach Road in Murchison Fall National Park and his colleagues were rescued by the UPDF.
Magezi said the rebels surrendered to police last Wednesday with three guns and 136 bullets.
Under the country’s Amnesty Act 2000, this voluntary surrender entitles the former LRA fighters to pardon if they apply for forgiveness.
The LRA have been fighting the government for the last 19 years, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing over 1.4 million people in northern Uganda. Currently the 1.4 million people live in congested internally displaced people’s camps and they depend of food hand outs from humanitarian agencies.
