Ugandan troops are helping South
Sudanese forces recapture territory seized by rebels since
fighting broke out in the country last month, Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni said.
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| Yoweri Museveni |
“The military of South Sudan are gaining on the ground,”
Museveni said at a meeting of regional leaders in the Angolan
capital, Luanda today. “They are advancing very well with the
support of our troops.”
Uganda deployed its army in South Sudan last month after
violence erupted when President Salva Kiir accused former Vice
President Riek Machar of attempting to stage a coup. Machar
denies the charge. The death toll from the fighting is
approaching 10,000, according to the International Crisis Group,
while 80,000 have fled to countries including Uganda and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Government forces last week recaptured Bentiu, capital of
oil-rich Unity state, while both sides claimed yesterday they
control Malakal, capital of neighboring Upper Nile state.
Negotiators who began talks on a cease-fire three days ago have
yet to reach an agreement on ending the four-week-old conflict.
Museveni spoke at a summit of the International Conference
on the Great Lakes Region, as 12-member inter-governmental
organization working to end conflict in eastern and central
Africa, where the Ugandan leader handed over the chairmanship of
the organization to Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos.
The conference plans to focus on ending fighting in the
member states of South Sudan, Central African Republic and the
Democratic Republic of Congo during its two-year leadership, Dos
Santos said.
“The conflicts in the DRC, South Sudan and Central African
Republic worry not just us in the region, but also Africa as a
whole,” he said. “These conflicts prevent social and economic
development on the continent.”
The ICGLR’s other members are Burundi, Congo Republic,
Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
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