President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) to intensify their operations against the remnants of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) so that the displaced peoples can go back home.

"I have directed the UPDF to intensify their mop-up operations against the LRA rebels since they are now moving in small numbers, " Museveni was quoted by weekly Sunday Vision as saying.

The LRA rebels have been fighting the government for the last 20 years in a rebellion that has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million people displaced from their homes and are now living in congested internally displaced persons' camps in the north.

Last October, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for five top rebel commanders.

The Ugandan army has said rebel leader Joseph Kony had fled from southern Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the pressure of the UPDF.

Museveni also said compensation claims from those whose cattle was eaten by the UPDF were being processed.

"We shall do general rehabilitation of the region. Through these rehabilitation programs you can be compensated though not individually. But only things damaged by the UPDF and not the LRA, Karimojong or Amin can be compensated," Museveni added while winding his campaign in northern Uganda.

Source: Xinhua