US appeals to Sudan to capture Uganda's rebel leader

US Ambassador to Uganda Jimmy Kolker has asked the Sudanese government to step up its efforts to capture Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighting the Ugandan government, The New Vision reported on Friday.

The US ambassador made the call in a function held here to raise money to improve sanitation in internally displaced people's camps in northern Uganda on Wednesday.

"We have been putting pressure on the Sudanese government to arrest Kony, and we encourage them to play their role effectively to restore peace in northern Uganda," Kolker said.

Kolker said the US administration has over the years contributed to relief and peace programs in northern Uganda.

Last Friday, Brig. Mohammed Habib of the Sudan People's Armed Forces said they would capture Kony and hand him over in seven days, or kill him if he tried to resist.

On July 28, Ugandan army attacked the LRA headquarters in Dirinyang area in southern Sudan and killed 120 rebels. However, rebel leader Kony apparently escaped.

The LRA rebels based in southern Sudan have been fighting a 18-year cross-border war against the Ugandan government and over 1.6 million people have been displaced and tens of thousands have been killed as a result of the war.

Source: Xinhua