Escalating violence worsening northern IDP plight - MSF

Recent attacks against civilian and humanitarian vehicles in northern Uganda will worsen the already dire conditions for hundreds of internally displaced people there, international charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned on Wednesday. It urged all parties to the conflict in northern Uganda to respect the freedom of movement of civilians and the independence and safety of humanitarian aid workers while ensuring their right to unhindered access to people in need of assistance. Nearly two million people have been displaced by the 19-year conflict between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, a brutal insurgency that frequently targets civilians for attack. Some 1.7 million live in over 200 camps and rely largely on international assistance to survive. "The recent spate of killings of aid workers and civilians in northern Uganda only highlights the ongoing insecurity and lack of protection faced by the people living in this region," said Amaia Esparza, MSF's head of mission in Uganda, in a statement. "These incidents threaten the assistance provided to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict, who are living in deplorable conditions and barely managing to survive," he added. MSF said that its medical programmes in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Lira and Pader had continued to provide assistance to people living in camps, even though the organisation's international staff had been reduced and movements restricted due to insecurity. Three ambushes on civilian vehicles had occurred in Kitgum and Pader during the last five days, according to the MSF statement. Twenty people had been killed and at least 14 injured and admitted to two hospitals in Kitgum. The attack in Kitgum targeted a civilian vehicle that was carrying four patients from the MSF clinic in Agoro. MSF said it had raised the issue of civilian safety and the lack of meaningful assistance in northern Uganda as a major concern on a number of occasions, including in a report released in December 2004. "Yet, almost one year later, the situation for displaced people in northern Uganda remains deplorable and will only deteriorate further if the current insecurity persists," the agency added.