On 6 May, the UDPF detailed it's first major contact with LRA rebels in the Sudan. On 2 May, an LRA group attacked a small Ugandan intelligence unit at Katire (the highlands between the garrison towns of Magwi and Torit) and was repulsed.
A second LRA effort between 16.00 and 18.00 local time the following day also ended badly for the rebels. The UDPF collected 18 LRA bodies (later raised to 32) and 18 rifles. They think that the total might reach 50, considering the number of blood trails.
This fight near upper Talanga, 40 kilometers from the Sudan border, might have been an attempt by the LRA group to break through to Uganda's Kitgum region. Deputy Commander of the 4th Division Colonel Francis Okello used commercial radio to warn the local populations of Agoro, Paloga, Madi Opei, Lokung and Padibe sub-counties of possible LRA infiltration into Kitgum.
An Ugandan-Sudanese ministerial defense meeting set for 17 May will assess whether the UPDF needs additional time past the existing 18 May deadline to pursue LRA groups in the Sudan. - Adam Geibel
