UN High Commissioner for Refugees reacts with shock to attack on camp in Uganda

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today reacted with shock to news of the rebel attack on a Ugandan camp housing tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees, while the agency scrambled to discuss security issues with government officials.

An estimated 24,000 refugees have fled into the bush following a pre-dawn attack by insurgents from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) against the Acholi Pii refugee camp, which is located in northern Uganda. Eight refugees were reported killed and four local aid workers kidnapped in the incident.

Witnesses said that rebels set shelters in Acholi Pii on fire, and that LRA troops were in the process of looting the area as the camp's residents fled into the bush.

UNHCR staff held urgent meetings in Kampala this morning with Uganda's Second Deputy Prime Minister and other government officials to discuss refugee camp security.

Located in a region which has experienced insecurity since the mid 1980s, Acholi Pii was attacked most recently on 31 July.

The UN estimates that there are 500,000 displaced Ugandans living in the area.