Former rebels join Uganda's army Northern Ugandans live in constant fear of attacks Some 300 former Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been welcomed into the regular army. Thousands of people turned out to watch as they marched through Gulu town before heading to a showground for the passing-out ceremony.
The LRA has wreaked havoc on the lives of civilians in northern Uganda for nearly two decades, killing thousands. Many rebels are abducted as children and forced to fight or are turned into sex slaves. But an amnesty exists for those who escape or are rescued during clashes with the army, and the level of forgiveness amongst the civilian population is high. 'Highly traumatised' According to army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza, the new recruits have received three months' military training and political education. If someone is still highly traumatised... we don't immediately throw them into the army Major Shaban Bantariza Uganda's army spokesman "They can now turn away from being terrorists into a people's defence force," Major Bantariza told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Many of the former rebels were not the leaders of the atrocities, he said. "We should make a difference between the misleaders and the misled, the ones that have formed the new battalion are basically the misled." He added that not all LRA escapees will be able to join the army. "If someone is still highly traumatised by the experience he went through... we don't immediately throw them into the army... he may become mad so we have been sorting them out," he said. The new recruits will be going back to fight the LRA, their former allies. ( should we say the so called Recuits were in fact UPDF's to begin with right from the on start they are just comming back to the UPDF after doing the deed!) "They have been helping us a great deal in tracking their [former] colleagues." Meanwhile, Ugandan officials say "LRA rebels" killed 11 villagers in Apungi village, about 300km north of the capital Kampala, over the weekend. A baby and three other children were among the dead. -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
