Uganda: Attacks on IDP camps kill more than 125 in the past month

New York: 11 June 2004: The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Jan Egeland, has condemned a series of attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on camps for internally displaced persons in Northern Uganda that have left more than 125 people dead in the past four weeks.
"These vicious attacks against some of the most vulnerable civilians are appalling. In many cases, the victims have fled attack after attack, desperate for safety. I condemn these atrocities in the strongest terms and call on the Lord's Resistance Army to stop all abuses against civilians immediately. I also call on the government to redouble their efforts to protect internally displaced persons, and to find a peaceful solution for this crisis," said Jan Egeland, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.

In the latest incident on the 8th of June, a group of 100 LRA rebels attacked a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Abok in Ngai sub-county, some 70 kilometres from Lira, killing 25 people, including 5 children. The rebels also abducted 26 people and burned more than 600 huts, destroying the victims' food stocks in the process. This is the fourth such attack by LRA rebels in the past month, which have killed a total of more than 125 people.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) led an inter-agency thorough assessment of humanitarian needs in the camp, and agencies supplied immediate assistance.

The previous three attacks followed a similar pattern, with roughly 100 rebels attacking camps at around 6 p.m. On the 3rd of June, LRA rebels attacked an IDP camp at Kalabong in Namokora sub- county near Kitgum, killing 23 people and injuring 12; 155 huts were burned; 20 people were reported missing and are assumed to have been abducted.

On May 20th, 41 people were killed and another 7000 displaced in an attack by the LRA on the Lukodi IDP camp some 12 kilometres from Gulu, Uganda. It is estimated that more than 200 huts were burned in the attack. The numbers of persons injured or abducted in the attacks is still not clear.

Another 39 people were killed on May 16th when members of the Lord's Resistance Army attacked the Pagak camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Uganda. The majority of victims were women and children, many of whom were clubbed to death. More than 3,000 people fled the IDP camp after that attack. These atrocities follow similar attacks against civilians in the villages of Odek on 29 April 2004 and in Barlonyo on 21 February, in which at least 190 people were murdered.