Dozens killed and 7,000 further displaced by attack in northern Uganda - UN

A second attack this week by the rebel Lord Resistance Army's (LRA) on a northern Uganda refugee camp has killed 41 people and displaced about 7,000 others, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

Quoting what it called credible sources, OCHA said the attack on already internally displaced persons (IDPs) took place at the Lukodi camp, 12 kilometres from Gulu, and some 200 homes were burned down. The numbers of injured and abducted were not known.

"These attacks against some of the most vulnerable civilians in the world are an outrage," said Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. "In many cases, the victims have fled attack after attack, desperate for safety. I condemn these attacks in the strongest terms and call on the Lord's Resistance Army to stop all abuses against civilians immediately."

OCHA is set to join an assessment team from other UN agencies, humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Ugandan Government to go to Lukodi as soon as security conditions improved.

On Sunday, the LRA attacked Pagak camp, killing 39 people, mainly women and children, by clubbing them to death. More than 3,000 IDPs fled that camp. At least 190 people were murdered in Odek village on 29 April and in Barlonyo village on 21 February, OCHA said.

Because of continued LRA attacks the number of IDPs has trebled to over 1.6 million since 2002, OCHA said.

The LRA also has abducted more than 10,000 children since June 2002. All children risk being abducted, forced to fight and to commit atrocities and have been subjected to sexual violence and slavery. To avoid abduction, tens of thousands of children - "night commuters" - seek protection in towns at night. In Kitgum, Gulu and Kalongo, there are 40,000 night commuters, OCHA said.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Executive Director Carol Bellamy would visit Ugandan IDP camps, night commuter shelter sites, schools and an HIV/AIDS prevention centre next week.

"The conflict in Uganda has affected hundreds of thousands of people and is getting worse," UNICEF said. "Bellamy will examine the impact of the fighting on children, including the widespread fear of abduction that forces children to seek special shelter at night."