UN ready to assist women and children held by Ugandan rebels

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Monday September 11, 2006

Kampala- Plans are being made to reunite over 1,000 women and children held by guerillas of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) with their families following a ceasefire agreement signed with the Ugandan government over two weeks ago, a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)official said Monday. The LRA, which has been fighting a 20-year brutal war in the north of the East African state, abducted children and youths for forced conscription and sex slavery.

Girl abductees eventually gave birth to children in the bush.

The United Nations and various humanitarian groups believe that up to 25,000 children were abducted by the LRA during its violent campaign, but the majority have either escaped or been rescued by government troops.

Southern Sudan's leaders are brokering the two month-long peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA and the partial ceasefire agreement allows the rebel combatants and their captives to move to two designated areas in Sudan where they are to be counted, screened and helped return to their villages.

UNICEF however believes that the number of women and children still in the hands of the LRA is much higher than 1,000 and the agency has therefore set up plans for handling 3,000 of the former abductees who may be among those moving to the two assembly centres.

"We are encouraging the parties to put the children and women at the centre of the discussions," UNICEF's spokesman in Kampala, Hyun Chulho told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

"Our estimate of the children and women in the hands of the LRA is anywhere from hundreds to more than 1,000. Our contingency arrangements in terms of resources, logistics and staffing means that it will be possible to handle a capacity of 3,000 if the number reaches that much. We are cooperating with other agencies and non- government organisations," Chulho said.

The conflict has devastated the northern half of the country which borders Sudan. Thousands of people have been killed or maimed by the rebels.

Nearly 2 million others have been displaced and live in dozens of camps dotted all over the region.

UNICEF has, in cooperation with other agencies, set up structures in the region to receive the children and women returning from the bush.

"We are ready for the children and women who have been separated from their families for many years. We have 500,000 US dollars for the initial plan in this inter-agency programme. The critical need is the reunification of these people with their families.

The longer term plan is to take those who are young to go to school and those who are older will be taken to vocational schools to be trained in skills and income-generating activities," Chulho said.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur