Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10KAMPALA23
2010-01-14 10:55:00
SECRET//NOFORN
Embassy Kampala
Cable title:  

UGANDA: CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR ANTI-LRA EFFORTS CRITICAL

Tags:  PREL PINS MOPS MCAP MASS UG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7798
OO RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0023/01 0141055
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O R 141055Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0118
INFO IGAD COLLECTIVE
RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000023 

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/14
TAGS: PREL PINS MOPS MCAP MASS UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA: CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR ANTI-LRA EFFORTS CRITICAL

CLASSIFIED BY: Jerry P. Lanier, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000023

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/14
TAGS: PREL PINS MOPS MCAP MASS UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA: CONTINUED U.S. SUPPORT FOR ANTI-LRA EFFORTS CRITICAL

CLASSIFIED BY: Jerry P. Lanier, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (S) Summary: U.S. logistical assistance for Ugandan military
operations against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) will end in
late-January, jeopardizing Uganda's increasingly successful 800
mile pursuit of the LRA through the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC),the Central African Republic (CAR),and Southern Sudan.
Since October 2009, U.S. assistance totaling $4.4 million has
provided the Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF) with logistical
and mobility support. This assistance has enabled Uganda to
systematically dismantle the LRA to less than 300 remaining
fighters, and reduce LRA atrocities against civilian populations.
A lapse in U.S. assistance will trigger critical logistical and
resupply difficulties that will undermine Uganda's ongoing military
campaign. We urgently request continued logistical assistance in
support of Operation Lightning Thunder (OLT). End Summary.



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U.S. Support for OLT

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2. (S) The U.S. has provided $4.4 million in support to the UPDF
beginning in October 2009 after Ugandan Chief of Defense Aronda
Nyakairima requested assistance with tactical and logistical
mobility following the grounding of three MI-17 and three MI-24
helicopters for mandatory repairs. The loss of these helicopters
left the UPDF with only one MI-17 helicopter and one MI-24 gunship
(which also require servicing),one Cessna observation plane, and
one turboprop Y-12 plane to support an estimated 4,000 troops
spread over an 800 mile area with little to no road infrastructure.
In response, the U.S. provided $2.4 million to transport troops and
supplies via trucks and airlift support (C-130 and AN-12 turbo
transport planes) . The U.S. allocated an additional $2 million to
help the UPDF redirect more resources to refurbishing Ugandan
helicopters grounded for maintenance. The UPDF will begin to
regain its airlift capability in March 2010 but will not have full

capacity until at least September.



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Results: Chipping Away at the LRA

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3. (S) U.S. support since October has directly contributed to the
UPDF's growing successes in dismantling the LRA. The Ugandan
military has used the sustained logistical backing to disrupt LRA
communications, increase rebel losses, and reduce LRA atrocities
against civilians. (Note: Septel will provide data documenting the
reduction in LRA attacks on civilians since October. End note).
Since the beginning of Operation Lightning Thunder (OLT) in
December 2008, Ugandan combat operations have killed 280 LRA
fighters, captured 134 LRA fighters, rescued 394 abductees, and
recovered 228 weapons. These operations have destroyed an
estimated 60% of the LRA and reduced the rebel group to less than
300 fighters. More than a quarter of these results occurred after
October 2009 and are directly attributable to U.S. assistance.
With U.S. support, the UPDF has made steady progress by rendering
the LRA nearly ineffective in DRC and putting increased pressure on
the LRA's remaining forces in CAR. Since October, the UPDF has
killed two senior LRA leaders - Brigadier General Buk Abudema
(Joseph Kony's chief executioner and the fourth ranked LRA officer)
and Major Michael Epado (Kony's Communication Officer)- and
captured Lieutenant Colonel Charles Arop ( the LRA Chief of
Operations). Additionally, the UPDF has killed 38 other LRA
members, captured 59, rescued 87 abductees, and recovered 72 LRA
weapons.



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Impact of Assistance Lapse

KAMPALA 00000023 002 OF 002


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4. (S) U.S. logistical assistance will end this month, with the
last delivery of fuel scheduled for January 28 and food rations on
January 31. The cutoff in U.S. support comes in at a critical
moment in the LRA offensive as Joseph Kony continues to position
himself just out of the UPDF's reach. Having pushed Kony across
two countries and reduced the number of LRA fighters to less than
300, Uganda is closer to eliminating the LRA than ever before in
the 23 year history of the conflict. Kony, who appears to be aware
of the UPDF's logistical challenges, moved LRA units as far north
as Djema, CAR, in November 2009. With U.S. support, Uganda used
additional airlift support to reach Kony by lengthening supply
lines yet again to position troops and supplies around Djema.
According to the UPDF, Ugandan troops directly engaged Kony and his
personal security detail in northern CAR on December 6, forcing
Kony to move his core group even further northeast - and once again
out of Ugandan airlift range - toward the Sudanese border.




5. (S) We believe LRA uncertainty about potential support from
Khartoum may keep Kony pinned down in northeastern CAR, caught
between the Sudanese border to the east, the unpredictable nature
of Darfur to the north, and the UPDF to the south and west.
Dependent on an 800 mile supply chain, the UPDF will not be able to
exploit this opportunity without continued logistical support.
Withdrawing support will drastically weaken this resupply chain and
render the UPDF ineffective against remaining LRA elements. With
Uganda expecting delivery of its repaired helicopters to begin in
March and take at least six months to complete, the UPDF will not
be able to continue its current pace of operations in the short run
without continued U.S. assistance. A lapse in this assistance will
also undermine our ongoing intelligence sharing agreement with
Uganda as the UPDF will be unable to act on any of the information
provided.



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Comment: Continued Assistance Critical

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6. (S) Uganda is as close to eliminating the LRA as it has been
since the conflict began 23 years ago. Continued U.S. logistical
support is critical for sustaining the success of Ugandan
operations since October 2009, and enabling the UPDF to reach Kony
as he retreats northward through CAR. The U.S. Mission urgently
requests the continuation of current logistical assistance with
additional funds commensurate with the UPDF's ever-longer supply
chain.
LANIER