Northern IDPs trapped by fear of rebel attacks

The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates there are currently 480,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in ‘protected villages’ or displaced people’s camps in northern Uganda, almost all of them from the Acholi ethnic group. Most were moved into protected villages in 1996 when the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), now commanded by Joseph Kony and reportedly supported by the Sudanese government, increased its attacks against communities in the region. Health and sanitation conditions in the IDP camps are deteriorating and the camps themselves will soon become financially unsustainable, according to UNOCHA. Traditional community and family mechanisms for ensuring cohesiveness and stability in society has broken down and the population is traumatised, the agency says. Despite these problems and the fact that about half the Acholi population has been in ‘protected villages’ for over five years, the Ugandan government has yet to formulate a clear policy on tackling displacement. However, in the current, more hopeful security environment, and under pressure from relief agencies, the government has begun to look at plans for dismantling the camps. [for more details, see separate “IRIN Focus on displacement in the North” of 24 July]