UNICEF says all freed Ugandans are LRA captives

UNICEF has denied press reports indicating that not all the Ugandans recently handed over to the agency in Sudan were captives of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). “A total of 75 persons - 21 female children, 33 male children, nine female adults and 12 male adults - who are with our office in Khartoum were freed from the LRA. The press reports were incorrect,” acting UNICEF Country Representative in Uganda, William Fellows, told IRIN on Thursday. Earlier press reports said that only 17 out of nearly 80 Ugandans handed over to UNICEF had been identified as LRA captives. A UNICEF official told IRIN there was a need to send Ugandan translators to Sudan to help in the identification exercise. Between 2,000-6,000 Ugandans are estimated to have been kidnapped since the LRA launched its rebellion in northern Uganda 12 years ago. In a press statement, issued on Thursday, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said her agency was highly appreciative of all that had been done by Sudan to ensure the success of this first stage in the process. “But we need to continue the work,” she stressed. “There can be no rest until all of the children who have survived have been traced and returned to their homes - and until every effort has been made to determine the fate of those who have died, thereby allowing a final, if tragic end to the agonising ordeal of their families.”