Refugees protest over relocation

Angry demonstrations broke out last week at a refugee camp in western Uganda over the government’s decision to relocate thousands of Sudanese refugees to two locations in the West Nile region of northern Uganda. Almost all the inhabitants of Kiryandongo refugee camp in Masindi district – some 15,000 refugees - marched on about 70 Ugandan security forces, forcing them to flee the area. The decision to move the refugees from the appallingly overcrowded Kiryandongo to Madiokollo and Ikafi camps, Yumbe district, has been the cause of growing controversy between Uganda’s government, the refugee community and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). The UNHCR representative for Uganda, Saihou Saidy, was recently expelled from Uganda for objecting to the government’s choice of location for re-housing the refugees. Kiryandongo’s residents have grave security fears about Yumbe and the whole West Nile region, owing to rebel activity in the area. They were initially moved to Kiryandongo in 2002 because of a rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attack on their camp in Acholi Pii, near the Sudanese border. “The attack on Acholi Pii is still with us,” said Abiti, a Sudanese camp leader. "Many of the people here had relatives killed in that attack. The blood is fresh in our minds.” In spite of the bitterness, the demonstration was largely peaceful, according to eyewitnesses. “The women made the most serious revolt,” Abiti told IRIN. “They stripped down to nothing and walked in front of the soldiers.” However, the security forces later entered the camp and arrested a number of its senior leaders for causing a disturbance. “For revenge they have kidnapped our leaders, but this protest was peaceful,” said Abiti. "Just wait for the day they try and force us onto those trucks to Yumbe [11 May]. That day we shall really make a revolt.” He also said the camp leaders had made contingency plans to flee eastwards into Kenya, if a better location was not found for them.