Ugandan authorities in the northern district of Kitgum have warned the residents against the rumoured recruitment of the youth into the rebel ranks in South Sudan. Uganda shares a border with the troubled South Sudan and as such intelligence reports reveal that the rebels in South Sudan have been trying to lure youths to fight.
The Resident District Commissioner at Kitgum said, “some people come and deceive you that they are recruiting you for jobs in South Sudan, yet they are recruiting you into rebel activities”.
Following the warning of the recruitment, the UPDF has been conducting security sweeps to ensure that the recruitment targeting unemployed youth does not happen as it could crossover the war into Uganda.
Uganda and South Sudan have long-standing economic and security interests. In 2013, for instance, Uganda deployed its military in South Sudan to back President Salva Kiir shortly after the war begun. Ugandan troops only withdrew after a regionally-brokered 2015 peace deal collapsed within months. Uganda is also host to over one million refugees fleeing from the instability in South Sudan
