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****** Uganda: Another Top Kony Commander Killed ******
Barbara Among
10 March 2009
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Kampala — THE joint troops pursuing the Lord's Resistance Army rebels in the
Garamba Forest on Monday killed a senior rebel commander, 16 fighters,
including two lieutenants and rescued 19 abductees.
Lt. Col. Okello Yape was gunned down at 6:00pm in the south-west of Ri-Kwangba
near the DR Congo and Southern Sudan border. This is the same area where LRA's
number five Col. Thomas Kwoyelo was captured last week.
Among those rescued was a former student of St. Mary's College, Aboke in Apac
district, Catherine Ajok, and her one-year-old son.
Ajok, who hails from Apac, is one of the 139 girls who were abducted by the
rebels from the college in October 1996.
She was in Senior Two at the time.
The army seized a number of essential items such as laptops, communication
gadgets and documents, through the guidance of fighters captured with Col.
Kwoyelo. It also captured two guns and a solar panel.
"He penetrated our forces without knowing as he ran for dear life and he was
gunned down by a UPDF soldier," said Capt. Deo Akiiki, the operation
spokesperson.
"This is good for us since we are now picking only the big fish from the LRA
ranks and files. They can always hide, but cannot escape forever," he added.
Akiiki said Kwoyelo's capture was beginning to yield results. "Four days after
his capture, 12 fighters, including two lieutenants, have been killed and 16
abductees rescued."
"With the information in our hands, Kony, (Okot) Odhiambo and (Dominic) Ongwen
are not far from our arch of fire and we shall call it a day," said Akiiki.
He said the LRA was in "its evening".
Yape's killing brings the number of LRA commanders killed since Operation
Lighting Thunder was launched last December to seven and those captured to
five. A total of 150 rebels have been killed and 300 abductees, mainly
Congolese nationals, rescued.
Those killed are Maj. Opori Okello, Lt. Simon Opio, three second lieutenants
and one yet to be identified, who was killed last week in Duru. The army has
captured two sergeants and a number of fighters.
The highest ranking rebel commander to be captured is Kwoyelo, who is under-
going treatment in a military hospital.
Also captured was Kony's doctor from the Central African Republic.
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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