LRA attack forces refugee relocation

Humanitarian agencies and Ugandan authorities are working out an emergency plan following Monday's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attack on a refugee camp in northern Uganda, which forced thousands of Sudanese refugees to flee into the bush. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday said plans were in hand to move the at least 24,000 Sudanese refugees who had fled from the camp to a safer location, following the Monday morning LRA attack on the Acholi-Pii refugee settlement in Pader District. Bushra Malik, the UNHCR's information officer for Uganda, told IRIN on Tuesday that the Ugandan authorities had, at an emergency meeting between humanitarian agencies and senior government officials, agreed to relocate the refugees to a safer location yet to be agreed upon, preferably in Yumbe, Hoima or Nebii districts, all in western Uganda. "The final settlement is a decision that will be made by the government. We will assist in all ways we can," she added. A team comprising UNHCR and World Food Programme officials had already travelled to Lira and Rachkoko, to which at least 15,000 of the refugees had fled, with a view to providing them with shelter, food and essential medicines, before they were moved to Kiryandongo in Masindi District, where they would camp for a month awaiting resettlement, Malik added. Timothy Bishop, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) country director for Uganda, said his agency was also planning a response, which would involve transporting food to Rachkoko from neighbouring Kitgum District. This was the second LRA attack in a week on the Acholi Pii Camp. The LRA group had first attacked the camp on 31 July, but government soldiers repulsed the attackers, UNHCR said. Earlier, on 8 July, LRA fighters had attacked the Maaji refugee settlement, in nearby Adjumani District, killing six refugees and putting another 8,000 to flight, it added. The number of casualties incurred in the Monday attack remains unclear. Maj Shaban Bantariza, the Ugandan army spokesman, told the BBC on Monday that about 200 LRA fighters had killed four soldiers and eight civilians, losing 11 of their own in the process. According to Bishop, the magnitude of the attack was an indication that the Ugandan government was no longer able to guarantee security in northern Uganda, where humanitarian assistance was becoming increasingly dangerous as a result. "It is obvious that the government is unable to ensure the security of aid operations in northern Uganda. I believe they [the authorities] need to be honest and acknowledge this," he said. IRC had earlier withdrawn most of its staff from the camp, following the first attack, but redeployed them there after receiving assurances from the Ugandan authorities guaranteeing their security, he added. "It is clear that the government is trying, but is unable to guarantee security. We believe any long-term solutions in northern Uganda must include peace," he said. UNHCR said four of its local aid workers had been found to be missing following the raid, two of whom had since been located. Quoting IRC staff who had fled to Rachkoko, the refugee agency said no expatriate aid workers had been in Acholi-Pii at the time of the attack. The camp manager, who managed to flee to Rachkoko, said the LRA fighters had commandeered a Ugandan army tank at Acholi-Pii and used it to fire on the fleeing refugees, and government troops were trying to defend the camp, UNHCR said in a statement it released on Tuesday. Witnesses said the attackers set shelters in the camp on fire, while others looted food stores, and belongings as the refugees fled for safety, it added. The LRA since June has intensified attacks on northern Ugandan districts, in response to the pressure exerted on it by Ugandan army in southern Sudan. About 500,000 displaced Ugandans and some 155,000 Sudanese refugees live in camps in northern Uganda, according to the refugee agency.