By Patrick Elobu Angonu in Soroti Richard M. Kavuma in Kampala
July 7, 2003-Monitor
Joseph Kony's LRA rebels over the weekend again abducted "a big number" of people in Katakwi district, local officials here have said.
The abductions, mostly of children, came as the government announced that the Army (UPDF) had defeated and pushed the rebels out of the Teso sub region.
The rebels on Saturday looted drugs and other supplies before burning the equipment of the NGO, Concern Worldwide and the Uganda Red Cross at the Oditel camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kapelebyong.
The Programme Manager for the Red Cross, Mr John Emamu, told The Monitor last night that the rebels stole and destroyed about six tonnes of supplies from their field offices at Oditel.
"They took sugar, rice, posho and milk that were meant for the IDPs and the terminally sick," Emamu said.
According to the Red Cross official, the rebels also burnt and destroyed whatever they could not carry away.
Fleeing residents arriving in Soroti town said that the rebels abducted "many people" from the IDP camps in Obalanga, Acumet, Acowa and the Kapelebyong Sub County headquarters over three days on the weekend.
Speaking from Soroti town last evening, the MP for Amuria in Katakwi district, Mr Ben Etonu, said that the recently recruited local vigilantes had repulsed the attempted rebel attack on Acowa.
"I have sent some people on a motor-cycle to find out the exact number but it looks like a big number of people were abducted," said Etonu, who had just returned from Amuria.
Fr. Boguslaw Zero, a Soroti Catholic diocesan priest, said the number of people abducted could be as high as 1,000.
The Monitor could however not independently or officially verify that figure.
Premature celebrations?
The Army's 3rd Division spokesman, Lt. Mathew Nsengiyunva yesterday confirmed the weekend attacks by the LRA but gave no details.
The UPDF spokesman at the General Military Headquarters in Bombo, Maj. Shaban Bantariza, said on phone last evening that rebels crossing into Lira from Teso were the ones who had "attempted some attacks" in Kapelebyong.
"Col. Andrew Gutti [Third Division Commander] is still in the field," Bantariza said. "Until he comes from there, we can not give you figures of abductions if any people were abducted."
The rebels were yesterday said to be moving toward Amuria town, 17km north of Soroti town.
They had reportedly raided the IDP camp in Acowa and abducted an unspecified number of people.
The rebels also critically injured a one Eloket, who was last evening nursing bullet wounds at the Soroti referral hospital.
The rebels first attacked Teso through Obalanga on June 15.
Government officials last week announced the defeat of the LRA in Teso and held a rally in Soroti town to celebrate the return of peace to the sub region.
But a former Member of Parliament here now says that the celebrations were rather premature.
" I don't know the idea behind the celebrations when the LRA rebels are still killing, raping and abducting innocent children from Teso," said former Amuria MP, Mr Faustian Ekwaru Onyang, whose relatives were among those abducted on the weekend.
He identified some of the abducted people as Mr Joseph Okello and Mr Ocaloi Ogwang.
He said that a one Mr Adal was abducted with his entire family.
Other abductees are Ekurit of Adipala, Mr Egole, and Mr Anthony Ogalol.
No 'home coming'
Meanwhile truckloads of displaced people who were returning home to Amuria on Saturday were forced to return to Soroti on learning that the rebels might still be at large in Amuria.
MP Etonu, who was co-ordinating the return of his displaced constituents to their homes as advised by the Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness, Hellen Amongin Aporu, had to call of the "home coming" trek.
Minister Amongin had earlier directed that no IDP camps should be set up in Soroti municipality.
Etonu yesterday said that they would halt the return of displaced people for a few days to assess the situation.
"I don't want to return people to where they are going to be abducted," the MP sadly said.
Etonu said that as he returned from Amuria, government soldiers were rushing toward Acowa to engage the rebels.
Etonu had earlier met stiff resistance from Fr. Zero as the MP tried to lure displaced people back to their villages.
Fr Zero had insisted that the villages were not yet safe from the LRA rebels.
But Etonu confronted the priest and labelled him Fr Zero a supporter of the opposition Reform Agenda, who was trying to mislead the masses.
The priest would however soon be vindicated as Etonu returned to Soroti almost all the people he had earlier ferried to Amuria.
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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