Museveni, who is among the guarantors of a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war, held closed-door discussions with President Salva Kiir
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni was expected to meet South Sudanese officials on the second day of his trip to the capital, Juba, as the U.N has expressed concern of a renewed civil war after the main opposition leader was put under house arrest.
Museveni, who is among the guarantors of a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war, held closed-door discussions with President Salva Kiir on Thursday. South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdallah Goc said that the country’s leadership had assured Museveni of its commitment to implement the peace agreement.
South Sudan’s political landscape remains fragile and recent violence between government troops and armed groups allied to the opposition has escalated tensions. Uganda last month deployed troops to South Sudan to support the government, but it was criticized by South Sudan’s main opposition party SPLM-IO, whose leader Riek Machar is under house arrest on charges of incitement.
In early March, an armed group loyal to Machar attacked a U.N helicopter that was on a mission to evacuate government troops from the restive northern Upper Nile State. Western countries including Germany and Norway have temporarily closed their embassies in Juba while the US and the UK have reduced embassy staff.
Meanwhile, Uganda is engaging with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after militants fired at a humanitarian aircraft in eastern DRC, killing one person, a military spokesperson said. Chris Magezi, a Ugandan military spokesperson, said in a statement issued late Monday that the International Committee of the Red Cross had contracted the Ocean Heights Aviation Training Centre in Uganda to evacuate its humanitarian staff caught in the conflict in South Kivu province in eastern DRC.
As the aircraft, a Cessna Caravan flying from Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport to Kavumu Airport in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, approached its destination on Thursday, it came under attack, Magezi said. “They (the pilots) flew there but landed when the security situation had dramatically changed. Reports suggest that one person on the aircraft was shot and succumbed to the injuries. The government of Uganda, through relevant diplomatic channels, is following up on this matter,” Magezi said.
“The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces are not involved in this at all, but we are concerned that our fellow citizens have been harmed. We will do everything necessary if we are asked to provide any assistance,” he added. The plane was piloted by a Ugandan and a South Sudanese national. In February, the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group seized control of Kavumu Airport, located about 30 km from Bukavu city. The airport serves as a crucial hub for humanitarian and military flights. The ongoing crisis in South Kivu and North Kivu provinces in eastern DRC has led to mass displacement, increased instability, and heightened diplomatic tensions between the DRC and Rwanda. Diplomatic and military efforts are underway to restore stability in the DRC.
Earlier on March 30, military leaders from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had called on local armed groups operating in the volatile eastern DRC to surrender and join the DRC government’s disarmament programme. Last month, the Ugandan military has intensified screening and surveillance along its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following last week’s clashes that left 242 Congolese militiamen dead.
Chris Magezi, acting spokesperson for the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), told Xinhua by phone on Thursday that the army, police, internal security agencies, and local councils are on high alert to prevent armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), from infiltrating Uganda and launching retaliatory attacks.
Last week, the Ugandan military announced it had killed 242 armed Lendu militants under the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO), who are reportedly allied with the ADF.
“The UPDF and all sister security agencies are working together. We are constantly vigilant. We trust our systems to receive those who seek safety and security, treat them humanely, and provide support while identifying any wrong elements,” said Magezi. “We are closely monitoring for any wrong elements attempting to enter Uganda. They will be apprehended and prosecuted according to the law,” he said.
Uganda deployed troops several weeks ago to eastern DRC’s northern Ituri Province to curb attacks by Lendu militants under CODECO and other armed groups. The mission also aims to prevent ADF infiltration. The ADF, a Ugandan rebel group affiliated with the Islamic State in Central Africa, has long operated in the eastern DRC. The UN Refugee Agency reported this week that more than 30,000 Congolese have fled to Uganda since January.
Security agencies warn that some militants may disguise themselves as refugees to enter Uganda. Earlier on March 25, the Ugandan military said that its deployment of troops in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), specifically in the town of Bunia, which helped prevent civilian killings. Chris Magezi said by phone that the presence of Ugandan forces in Bunia, Djugu, and Mahagi has significantly improved security in the DRC’s northern province of Ituri.
