At least six people have been killed and several others wounded in two ambushes on civilian vehicles by unknown armed groups in southern Sudan, officials said on Thursday.
Maj Gen Wilson Deng, who heads the team monitoring the truce signed between the Ugandan government and the country's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), said the ambushes took place on Wednesday near Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, where the peace talks are being held.
He said officials of the south Sudan government found three burnt cars and six people dead at the scene. "Two people were burnt beyond recognition," he added.
The Ugandan military pinned responsibility for the attacks on the LRA, which denied any involvement, in a blame game that has marred the talks aimed at ending 20 years of fighting in northern Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is due to visit Juba this weekend in a bid to boost the faltering negotiations, according to officials.
Earlier this week, Uganda accused the rebels of shooting dead an army officer in the latest allegations by both sides of violations of the landmark truce. Uganda's junior foreign minister, Okello Oryem, said details of Museveni's trip were still being worked out but that he would meet Sudanese Vice-President Salva Kiir, who is also president of southern Sudan.
Officials of the southern Sudan government said they did not know who was responsible for the attack or the motive behind it. "We are still investigating who carried out the attack and whether it was the LRA or not," Deng said.
"What happened yesterday is confusing because only three days ago the LRA requested food and they started moving towards Owiny Ki-Bul [a designated assembly site for the LRA], but then when we heard about these attacks it is still hard to believe that they are same people," he said.
He added that the Ugandan army had a presence in the area of Nisitu near the ambush sites and that the Sudanese army was also nearby. "But we are still investigating," he added.
Lt Chris Magezi, the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) spokesman in northern Uganda, blamed the LRA. He said: "The LRA carried out three ambushes in which they killed 11 people. The LRA has used the talks to reorganise and resume terrorising people. We shall remain steadfast and defend the people, but we know the talks will continue."
The rebels, however, denied involvement in the attacks. "The LRA, after consulting with its military high command, confirmed beyond any doubt that its soldiers were not involved in the attacks," Godfrey Ayoo, a rebel spokesman, said. "We have not declared any war on anyone on Sudanese soil. We are calling for a thorough investigation of the attacks and hope that the results will be made public."
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced since the LRA and its leader, Joseph Kony, started a regional rebellion among northern Uganda's Acholi people in 1988.
Kony and four top aides have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Those charges have become a major sticking point in the Juba talks, with the rebels demanding they be quashed before a peace deal and Kampala refusing to implement an offer of total amnesty until a pact is actually agreed.
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Maj Gen Wilson Deng, who heads the team monitoring the truce signed between the Ugandan government and the country's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), said the ambushes took place on Wednesday near Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, where the peace talks are being held.
He said officials of the south Sudan government found three burnt cars and six people dead at the scene. "Two people were burnt beyond recognition," he added.
The Ugandan military pinned responsibility for the attacks on the LRA, which denied any involvement, in a blame game that has marred the talks aimed at ending 20 years of fighting in northern Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is due to visit Juba this weekend in a bid to boost the faltering negotiations, according to officials.
Earlier this week, Uganda accused the rebels of shooting dead an army officer in the latest allegations by both sides of violations of the landmark truce. Uganda's junior foreign minister, Okello Oryem, said details of Museveni's trip were still being worked out but that he would meet Sudanese Vice-President Salva Kiir, who is also president of southern Sudan.
Officials of the southern Sudan government said they did not know who was responsible for the attack or the motive behind it. "We are still investigating who carried out the attack and whether it was the LRA or not," Deng said.
"What happened yesterday is confusing because only three days ago the LRA requested food and they started moving towards Owiny Ki-Bul [a designated assembly site for the LRA], but then when we heard about these attacks it is still hard to believe that they are same people," he said.
He added that the Ugandan army had a presence in the area of Nisitu near the ambush sites and that the Sudanese army was also nearby. "But we are still investigating," he added.
Lt Chris Magezi, the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) spokesman in northern Uganda, blamed the LRA. He said: "The LRA carried out three ambushes in which they killed 11 people. The LRA has used the talks to reorganise and resume terrorising people. We shall remain steadfast and defend the people, but we know the talks will continue."
The rebels, however, denied involvement in the attacks. "The LRA, after consulting with its military high command, confirmed beyond any doubt that its soldiers were not involved in the attacks," Godfrey Ayoo, a rebel spokesman, said. "We have not declared any war on anyone on Sudanese soil. We are calling for a thorough investigation of the attacks and hope that the results will be made public."
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced since the LRA and its leader, Joseph Kony, started a regional rebellion among northern Uganda's Acholi people in 1988.
Kony and four top aides have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Those charges have become a major sticking point in the Juba talks, with the rebels demanding they be quashed before a peace deal and Kampala refusing to implement an offer of total amnesty until a pact is actually agreed.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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