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In photos: A decade on, effects of Uganda's war linger

Akwero Nighty, 7, works in a cassava field in Uganda instead of going to school because her mother is home with an injured foot. Ric Francis/IRIN
Akwero Nighty, 7, works in a cassava field in Uganda instead of going to school because her mother has an injured foot.
A senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, made his first appearance at the International Criminal Court this week to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Although the LRA has not been active in northern Uganda for a decade, the effects of their 20-year war with the government linger on.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the conflict devastated the northern region of Uganda, destroying livelihoods and infrastructure. Almost the entire population of the north was displaced, forced into so-called 'protected villages', where schools were few in number, overcrowded and expensive. The LRA frequently attacked these camps, abducting thousands of children and forcing them to commit unspeakable atrocities and take up arms.

IRIN looks at how underdevelopment in the northern Acholi region has affected education.

Click here to view a slideshow of the situation.

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