Uganda troops and American Special forces in Central African Republic have discovered a cache of elephant tusks reportedly hidden by LRA fighters north of Djema Town.
A statement issued on Thursday by the UPDF spokesperson, Col. Felix Kulayigye, said the discovery followed a tip-off by an LRA defector, who reported that the rebels maintained caches of ivory tusks and identified the approximate location.
“A US Embassy Bangui representative contacted officials at the CAR Ministry of Forests and Water, who indicated that the ministry was unable to reach the remote location to secure the tusks,” he explained.
The discovery corroborates reports that LRA is involved in trading elephant tusks, which are reportedly taken to Darfur and exported.
One kilogramme of ivory can sell for more than $1000 and the price keeps going higher.
In 2011, 38.8 tonnes of illegal ivory was seized by authorities worldwide, equaling the tusks of more than 4,000 dead elephants.
Leave a Reply