Rebels demand aid agency pull-out //corrected version//

//Attention subscribers. This item corrects and replaces an earlier report titled 'UGANDA: Rebels demand aid agency pull-out'// The Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has issued an ultimatum for the United Nations and aid agencies to pull out of northern Uganda and southern Sudan by 14 August, according to an LRA statement issued to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the humanitarian agency said. IRC also reported that the LRA continued to hold hostage five of its employees who were abducted on Monday, when the rebels attacked and destroyed Acholi-Pii refugee camp in northern Uganda's district of Pader, forcing about 24,000 Sudanese residents to flee. IRC, which has been overseeing humanitarian programmes in the camp for two years, said it was negotiating for the release of the aid workers - all men and Ugandan citizens. In a statement it released on Thursday, IRC said the LRA telephoned the IRC offices in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on Wednesday and issued a statement, which, they said, must be broadcast in exchange for the release of the hostages. "The rebel statement, relayed to IRC by Colonel Charles Tabu Ley, said Monday's attack was in retaliation for Uganda's military campaign against it in southern Sudan, with permission from the Sudanese government and with the help of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)," the IRC reported. "The LRA also accuses the Sudanese government and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) for supporting the operation." According to IRC, the LRA demanded that the United Nations and nongovernmental aid organisations cease their operations and leave northern Uganda and southern Sudan by 14 August, warning that in the event of con-compliance, "history will repeat itself". "The rebel statement has not been broadcast verbatim, but on Wednesday, the BBC's Focus on Africa programme aired an interview with Timothy Bishop, the head of IRC programmes in Uganda, about the contents of the statement and his discussions with LRA to win the release of the staff," the IRC statement said. "Bishop said the LRA had assured him that a Ugandan military base in the camp, not the IRC, had been the target of the attack. Bishop told the BBC that he is pleading with LRA to release the hostages," it added. IRC said the four hostages had been made to walk long distances and were unsure where they were, but believed they were still in Uganda. On Tuesday Bishop told IRIN that IRC had earlier withdrawn most of its staff from the camp, following an attempted attack on the camp on 31 July, but redeployed them there after receiving assurances from the Ugandan authorities guaranteeing their security. Monday's attack on Acholi-Pii was considered one of the most severe raids carried out by the LRA since it began to intensify its attacks in northern Uganda in June. The number of casualties incurred in Monday's attack is still unconfirmed, but media reports suggest that at least 50 people were killed. The IRC was also tracking down up to 30 aid workers who remained unaccounted for, according to its statement. Following the attack, IRC urged the Ugandan government to "act decisively" to restore security in northern Uganda, where nearly half a million people have been uprooted from their homes and are living in camps as a result of LRA activities. "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," the IRC said. Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has said it was concerned over the escalating violence in Uganda, which, it said, was preventing it from delivering food to the half a million people who depended solely on the agency for food. "We have been unable to deliver food to refugee camps without convoys. Even that is only possible on days when authorities believe the area is secure," Khaled Mansour, a WFP spokesman, said in a statement released