Two civilians killed in crossfire in troubled north

Two civilians were killed in clashes between the Ugandan army and rebels near a camp for internally displaced persons in the troubled northern district of Lira over the weekend. Local leaders said four soldiers were also killed. The fighting broke out on Saturday night when a group of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels tried to enter the camp in Otwal, 40 km west of Lira town. Father Sebhat Ayele, a Catholic priest in Lira, 380 km north of the capital, Kampala, who interviewed eyewitnesses after the attack, told IRIN on Monday: "They [the rebels] tried to enter the camp, but they were stopped by the soldiers. Two civilians and four the soldiers died in the fighting." Army sources admitted that civilians had been killed, but denied that any soldiers were hurt. The deputy army spokesman, Paddy Ankunda, told IRIN: "There was no serious confrontation. These guys were just looking for food to loot, and were repulsed. We killed one of the rebels, but unfortunately two civilians died in the crossfire. Not one soldier was killed, or even injured." The LRA has been waging war in Uganda for 18 years. Thousands of civilians have been killed and over 1.5 million displaced by the rebels over that period. The Ugandan military frequently claims to have killed large numbers of rebels but rarely reports any fatalities on its own side.