Uganda declares victory against Lord's Resistance Army

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan troops began withdrawing from the Central African Republic on Wednesday, the military said, having crushed the cultish Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

In a statement, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) said the first batch of returning soldiers had arrived at the northern city of Gulu.

“The decision to withdraw was premised on the realization that the mission to neutralize the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels has now been successfully achieved,” spokesman Brig. Richard Karemire said.

The militants had lost the means of waging war against Uganda and no longer posed a significant threat, he added.

The statement said LRA leader Joseph Kony, who has fought across the region since the late 1980s, was now followed by “less than 100 armed fighters” and his movement was “weak and ineffective.”

The UPDF has been in the Central African Republic since 2012 as part of an African Union task force. The LRA, which has been accused of numerous civilian massacres, was forced out of Uganda in a decade ago. Several of its key leaders have been killed or captured in recent years.

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan troops began withdrawing from the Central African Republic on Wednesday, the military said, having crushed the cultish Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

In a statement, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) said the first batch of returning soldiers had arrived at the northern city of Gulu.

The militants had lost the means of waging war against Uganda and no longer posed a significant threat, he added.

The statement said LRA leader Joseph Kony, who has fought across the region since the late 1980s, was now followed by “less than 100 armed fighters” and his movement was “weak and ineffective.”