Friends
Most of the IDPs who died, the survivors said, were burned alive when the
rebels set fire to their thatched huts after ordering them into their houses at
gunpoint. Others trying to flee were shot, bludgeoned or hacked to death by
rebels wielding clubs, machetes and AK-47s. Molly Auma, 26, told IRIN that the
rebels had opened fire at her hut, forcing her to run outside with her
10-months-old baby. Once outside, the rebels shot at her, hitting the child.
She ran towards another hut, but the rebels fire-bombed that hut. "I survived
because they thought I had died," she said. “The biggest LRA slaughter of
civilians on record happened in 1995 in Atiak, north of Lira, when some 240
people were herded into a corner and shot dead.”
As we continue with these atrocities, let us put ourselves into the situation
these Ugandans passed through, It is only that understanding that will help us
build laws into our country to stop this kind of violence. It is understanding
these atrocities that will help us resolve to create a country where a group of
people does not have a right to terrorize us as Ugandans. When you look
closely at what Acholi did to their own people, it is exactly what they did in
Luwero triangle, it is exactly what they did in Eastern Uganda, it is exactly
what they did in West Nile and it is exactly what they did to their very own
people. At what point of our lives do we stand up and denounce Acholi violence?
Ugandans we need to discuss Acholi violence but candidly.
Rebels massacre more than 200 in Lira IDPs camp
LIRA, 23 February 2004 (IRIN) –
In the most devastating attack on civilians in northern Uganda for nearly 10
years, rebels who have waged war in northern Uganda for 18 years, massacred at
least 200 people in an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp on Saturday,
eyewitnesses said.
Three bodies of those who died later at Lira referral hospital were being
loaded by relatives on to a small truck on Monday morning to be taken for
burial, while other injured IDPs were being treated by medical staff. Sam
Ekomu, a survivor of the massacre, told IRIN his three cousins were among the
dead.
Father Sebhat Ayele, a Roman Catholic priest who visited the scene shortly
after the attack told IRIN that about 300 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels,
dressed like regular Ugandan army soldiers and armed with assault rifles and
artillery, had attacked the Barloonyo camp, 26 km north of Lira town, and
overpowered the local Amuka militia posted there to protect it.
"The estimate of the dead that we have is now over 200," Fr Ayele told IRIN in
Lira town, 380 km north of the capital, Kampala, on Monday morning.
Survivors of the massacre told IRIN at the hospital that the rebels, stormed
the camp at about 17:00 GMT. They fired a recoilless gun into a barracks
housing the 35 Amuka militiamen before moving into the camp, which houses 4,800
IDPs and is sited in the bush off the main road.
Most of the IDPs who died, the survivors said, were burned alive when the
rebels set fire to their thatched huts after ordering them into their houses at
gunpoint. Others trying to flee were shot, bludgeoned or hacked to death by
rebels wielding clubs, machetes and AK-47s.
Molly Auma, 26, told IRIN that the rebels had opened fire at her hut, forcing
her to run outside with her 10-months-old baby. Once outside, the rebels shot
at her, hitting the child. She ran towards another hut, but the rebels
fire-bombed that hut. "I survived because they thought I had died," she said.
The rebels also reportedly abducted some IDPs, though it was unclear whether
they were later killed or taken captive. Abductees, especially young children,
are often taken by the LRA for forcible recruitment into their ranks as
fighters, porters or sex-slaves.
A number of bodies remained burning in their huts by Sunday morning,
eyewitnesses said, while 50, burned beyond recognition, were buried in a mass
grave. Some 60 injured IDPs were evacuated to Lira Referral Hospital in
critical condition.
The attack comes barely three weeks after rebels massacred around 50 people in
Abia camp, also in Lira District. Like the Saturday incident, the Abia camp
attack occurred at about 17:00 GMT.
The army said the remaining IDPs were going to be evacuated and transferred to
camps closer to Lira town. The army spokesman, Maj Shaban Bantariza, was unable
to confirm the death toll, but said that "the rebels had superior weapons. The
Amuka have not yet had the training to use similar firepower. They were
out-armed."
Bantariza said the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in the area were tracking the
rebels in the bush. The attack, he added, was "most likely an attempt to
distract them back from there, as well as to intimidate the Amuka and terrorise
the civilian population".
The cult-like LRA, led by a reclusive mystic, Joseph Kony, say they want to
topple the government, which is dominated by southerners, and restore power to
the Acholi people in the north. Yet most of the group’s atrocities are
committed against defenceless civilians, usually fellow Acholis.
Kony claims to have magic powers derived from the Holy Spirit, and manipulates
beliefs in witchcraft to instil fear in his followers. Virtually all LRA
recruits are abducted children who are brainwashed by fear and forced to commit
violent acts.
The biggest LRA slaughter of civilians on record happened in 1995 in Atiak,
north of Lira, when some 240 people were herded into a corner and shot dead.
Stay in the forum for Series two hundred and thirty one on the way ------>
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika
machafuko"
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