Follow up on the running fight in Kitgum, Uganda:
the UPDF's 23rd Battalion intercepted that large group of LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) rebels (numbering close to a hundred) on 14 July engaged them in a fierce two-day running battle, killing over 50. The same rebel group is said to have clashed with the UPDF's 11th Battalion and killed it's commander. There were rumors that the bodies of 36 Ugandan soldiers had been brought in from the bush.
The Ugandan government said that the UPDF had killed 250 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels and captured 25 since March 2002, while LRA rebels attacked secondary schools and a Catholic mission in Apac. However, the UPDF had been tipped off in time and engaged the rebels for over 40 minutes about 15 miles (25 km) from Lira. Reports claim that 14 rebels and four UPDF soldiers were killed, with one AK-47 recovered and traffic on the Kitgum road reportedly blocked.
On the 18th, the army reported that the group of about 500 Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels that crossed from Sudan through Agoro Hills is believed to be the last one. Constant pressure by UPDF troops in southern Sudan and from the Sudan government, as well as the lack of food and military supplies, had forced the LRA to leave Sudan. He admitted that they did not know for sure if Kony was in Uganda or had remained in Sudan. - Adam Geibel