UNHCR says it supports government on refugee resettlement

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has denied reports in a Ugandan newspaper suggesting that it was unhappy with the government's plan to resettle thousands of Sudanese refugees displaced by a rebel attack on their camp in August.

The government-owned 'New Vision' newspaper on Tuesday reported that some 15,000 Sudanese refugees, who survived the 5 August attack by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on the Acholi-Pii camp in Pader district, were to be moved from their current temporary accommodation in Masindi district, central Uganda to camps in northern Uganda.

However, the paper also cited "a source" within UNHCR who reportedly said the agency was "not convinced" regarding the safety of the refugees in northern areas.

But UNHCR spokeswoman Bushra Malik told IRIN on Tuesday there was no controversy between the Ugandan government and the agency over the relocation of the refugees.

"We didn't make any comments. No one in UNHCR made any comments," Malik said. "The government has stated its position, and UNHCR has agreed with the position."

The Sudanese refugees were initially due to be transferred to a camp further south, but the Ugandan government changed the plans saying the refugees would integrate better in northern camps where they shared a Nilotic culture with the local community.