Saleh Gives Out Relief To Northerners

By Grace MatsikoSALIM Saleh Foundation for Humanity (SSFH) has began distribution of relief supplies to thousands of starving people affected by the war in northern Uganda.The Foundation run by Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh (right) has distributed aid to thousands of the internally displaced people (IDPs) in Gulu, his aides said yesterday.“He has been delivering relief aid to the displaced people under Salim Saleh Foundation for Humanity,” his top aide said. “Better call him,” an aid worker added.The New Vision yesterday reported that Saleh, an army representative to Parliament and the Reserve Force commander, had joined President Yoweri Museveni in a major military offensive against Kony rebels in the north.The aide said the story highlighted only the military role and did not report the humanitarian activities, which the General had undertaken in the region.In the late 1990s, Saleh, through SSFH, distributed simsim, maize seeds and agricultural tools to the north. The project was aimed at uplifting the living standards of the poor, believed to be the majority of Kony fighters, so as to convince them to abandon the rebellion.Saleh, a battle-hardened military officer and an undergraduate university student, has set up his base in Gulu to join the UPDF high command overseeing the anti-Kony offensive. Saleh, during his tenure as the overall commander of the UPDF operations against Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) based in Gulu, the northern region experienced relative peace, with a big number of rebels surrendering, a military source said. Museveni, who has pitched camp in Gulu to oversee the anti-Kony operations, has taken UPDF soldiers through several military drills. He has vowed to end Kony’s terror campaign against innocent civilians.Kony rebels, with bases in the southern Sudan, have killed, maimed, raped and abducted hundreds in a terror campaign spanning 16 years. The US has listed Kony among global terrorists.The Sudanese government recently signed agreements with Kampala, allowing the UPDF to pursue the rebels inside their territory and rescue abducted people.Kony responded by sneaking into northern Uganda where he has unleashed deadly attacks mostly on civilian targets.Ends