[allAfrica.com] [celtel.com] Museveni Asks Bashir to Hand Over Kony The Monitor (Kampala) NEWS July 28, 2004 Posted to the web July 27, 2004 By Gerald Walulya Kampala President Yoweri Museveni has asked Sudanese President Omar Bashir to hand over the LRA leader Joseph Kony if the Sudanese army captures him. The Minister of Defence, Mr Amama Mbabazi, told the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs yesterday that Museveni recently held talks with Bashir to find a way of ending the 17-year-old insurgency. "Our President has talked to Bashir and written to the Sudanese Minister of Defence. In case Kony crosses to Sudan and he is captured by Sudan forces, he will definitely be handed over to the UPDF," Mbabazi said. He was briefing MPs on the security situation in the country. He said due to the UPDF pressure, Kony had fled back to southern Sudan. "Kony has crossed the redline beyond where UPDF is supposed to operate," Mbabazi said. He said the UPDF has killed 615 rebels, rescued 200 captives, captured 32 insurgents and recovered 130 guns in various attacks in the past one month. He said 202 fighters surrendered to the army in the same period. He said he recently met Rwandan and DR Congo officials in the United States and discussed regional security. "We agreed that security concerns of all countries in the Great Lakes should be addressed to the satisfaction of all," Mbabazi said. He said officials from the three countries would soon meet again in Kampala. According to a protocal between Uganda and Sudan, the UPDF can pursue Kony rebels up to a certain point in southern Sudan. More than one million people in the north and north-eastern Uganda have been displaced from their homes following the LRA rebel attacks.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================