H.E. Y K Museveni receives Russian delegation as UN stresses Kony remnants a threat to be eliminated

President Museveni receives Russian delegation A joint strategy by the United Nations and other concerned parties to eliminate a security threat posed by the remnants of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) should be implemented.

This has been demanded by the Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Jan Elliasson. He was addressing the opening session of the 19th Ordinary Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa yesterday. He told the summit that Kony still poses a security threat to the region and disclosed that the United Nations, with other parties, have been working out a strategy to eliminate what he describes as a criminal group.

Kony fled to the Central African Republic with his remnants following a Uganda People’s Defence Forces successful attack on his base in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UPDF has been pursuing Kony's group and a number of his commanders have been captured including Achellam who was netted by the army recently. The UPDF has also rescued a number of captives kidnapped by the criminal.

President Museveni, who is also in Addis Ababa for the Summit, has always maintained that Kony no longer poses a threat to Uganda but terrorizes neighbouring countries like South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Jan Eliasson from Sweden, who represented, his boss Ban Ki Moon, said that there was need to address Kony's security threat.
"This criminal group can still inflict terrible suffering on the population", he noted. He disclosed that the United Nations has been working closely with the AU and other concerned parties to develop a strategy to address this problem. 

"Now, we must carry it out together”, said the Deputy Secretary General. He hailed Uganda and other members of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which contributed troops for the sacrifices they have made to ensure peace in Somalia. "We are seeing the prospect for a peaceful future and the vision should be extended to cover the Horn of Africa as well”, he observed.

He, however, noted with concern that the food crisis still persisted. He advised that to avoid new disasters immediate action should be taken. Meanwhile, President Museveni has held discussions with a number of delegations on the sidelines of the Addis Ababa Summit. They included a powerful Russian delegation led by Mr. Mikhail V. Margelov. The President told the Russian delegation that there was need for Russians to take a more active role in Africa. He said that African countries have to learn from Russian history.