UGANDA 23/4/2004 9:54 KITGUM: FEAR OF NEW ATTACKS BY LRA REBELS General, Brief MISNA sources in Kitgum, capital of the north Ugandan district of the same name, report that the city is on alert following rumours of a possible attack by the rebels of LRA (lordâs Resistance Army). These fears are corroborated by a recent series of attacks by the âOlumâ (as the LRA rebels are called in the local Acholi language) on villages in the area: raids, looting and violence, which do not appear to have claimed lives, but which have nonetheless terrified the local population. In one of the most recent attacks on a small village near Kitgum, the rebels abducted numerous people, only to release them a short while later. Meanwhile, MISNA sources point out that the number of women killed by the rebels in Matidi, 20 kilometres east of Kitgum, last week has risen to 16. In addition to the five women who were killed while searching for food in the area around the refugee camp where they lived, the bodies have been found of a further 11 women, who were abducted on that occasion and subsequently killed. The LRA has tormented the northern districts of Uganda under the leadership of Joseph Kony since 1986; according to local sources, tens of thousands of people have been tortured and killed, more than 25,000 children have been abducted and reduced to slavery or forcibly enlisted and over a million people have been displaced from their homes. [LC] N¬±êï‰Ç²,µçhžØ^"wèr‰§zÜ(®Hm¶Ÿÿà "ú ¢g(º
