Uganda rebel leader 'shot dead'

The Ugandan army has been unable to crush the rebels

A top commander of the rebel Ugandan Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has been killed, the Ugandan army has announced.

Charles Tabuley, the LRA's second in command, was killed in fighting on Wednesday in northern Uganda, army spokesman Chris Magezi said.

The rebels have not confirmed their commander's killing.

The LRA rebels- based in southern Sudan, northern and eastern Uganda - have fought to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni since 1988.

Interception

Lieutenant Chris Magezi said Tabuley had been killed "during running battles" in the district of Kaberamaido.

"Our intelligence has intercepted rebels' radio communication messages confirming Tabuley's death and orders from [LRA leader Joseph] Kony to have the body taken to him in Sudan," the spokesman said, quoted by the AFP news agency.

Three of Tabuley's associates are also reported to have been killed.

The Ugandan army also said that, in the past week, it had rescued 120 children abducted by the LRA rebels in three northern districts.

Thousands of civilians have been killed and more than a million others displaced by the fighting in northern Uganda alone.

Humanitarian organisations say that about 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebels over the last five years, with many taken to LRA bases in southern Sudan, where they are trained as child soldiers while the girls are turned into sex slaves.

The Ugandan Government blames Sudan for supporting the LRA. Sudan in turn claims that Uganda supports the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which operates in southern Sudan.