{UAH} IDDI AMIN NEVER TARGETED LANGIs/ACHOLIs, THEY TARGETED HIM {---Series One-Hundred and eighty-four}

Friends

The attack on Barlonyo has been the worst in the last nine years in northern Uganda. The last single attack of such magnitude occurred on 2 April 1995 when LRA rebels attacked an IDP camp in Atiak sub-county, Gulu and killed an estimated 250 people. Other vicious LRA attacks in recent years include that on Acol-Pii Refugee camp in now Pader district on 13 July 1996, in which 98 people were killed, and a series of attacks in Lamwo county, Kitgum between 5 and 12 January 1997, in which rebels killed 412 people. In addition to other attacks that get national attention, there are numerous ones of smaller magnitude that go unreported, but in which people are killed, nonetheless.

This is how Acholi have killed each other, these are very high numbers and still continuing, What must worry every Ugandan out there is that friends like Akim Odong and George Okello do not see these numbers, their discussion is only limited to we must remove Museveni from power and we need federalism. What is the value of handing you federalism when you are that uncivilized? And one can opine that actually the Acholi that are not dead yet are alive thanks to unitary government we have in power, and we must remain that way so help me God. UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs wrote a report on Acholi violence under a heading Humanitarian Update Uganda Feb 2004 Volume V1, Issue 11.

Ugandans we need to discuss Acholi violence candidly.

Humanitarian Update Uganda Feb 2004 Volume VI, Issue II

Report

from UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Published on 29 Feb 2004

CARITAS staff member killed
An accountant with CARITAS was killed by suspected LRA rebels in Pajule village, Aruu county in Pader on 22 February. The late Joseph Otim was on his way to Pajule Children's Rehabilitation Centre when the rebels reportedly shelled his vehicle. Two companions were injured. UN-OCHA joins other humanitarian agencies in expressing our sorrow and heartfelt condolences to CARITAS and the bereaved family. This unfortunate incident, as with the death of scores of other humanitarian workers while on duty, underscores the dangers facing humanitarian workers, whose principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality have once again been so willfully flouted.

I. Security

a) Lira: Massacre in Barlonyo IDP camp

Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked Barlonyo IDP camp in Lira district on 21 February and killed up to 200 people, according to local authorities. The central government put the number of those killed at 84, although a government pathologist has so far exhumed 121 bodies from the camp grounds in an exercise that started a week after the attack. Press reports quoted local authorities as saying that more than 50 bodies of those killed while fleeing the camp were recovered in nearby bushes, while some residents buried their relatives in nearby villages. Other victims died in hospitals where they had been taken after the attack. Most of the victims, mainly women and children, were hacked with machetes, shot or burned to death in their huts. About 60 people were reportedly injured.

An estimated 4,800 people were living in the camp at the time of the brutal incident. The massacre was the second major LRA attack in Lira in two weeks, after rebels on 5 February killed over 45 people in Abia IDP camp in Apala sub-county, 10 kilometres from Barlonyo camp. More than 70 people were reportedly injured in the attack on the camp that was housing about 8,000 displaced people at the time. On 7 February, rebels attacked Abako IDP camp in Apatanya village, where over 10 people were killed and scores taken captive.

Most vicious attack in nine years

The attack on Barlonyo has been the worst in the last nine years in northern Uganda. The last single attack of such magnitude occurred on 2 April 1995 when LRA rebels attacked an IDP camp in Atiak sub-county, Gulu and killed an estimated 250 people. Other vicious LRA attacks in recent years include that on Acol-Pii Refugee camp in now Pader district on 13 July 1996, in which 98 people were killed, and a series of attacks in Lamwo county, Kitgum between 5 and 12 January 1997, in which rebels killed 412 people. In addition to other attacks that get national attention, there are numerous ones of smaller magnitude that go unreported, but in which people are killed, nonetheless.

More people displaced

In the aftermath of the Barlonyo massacre, the number of displaced persons in rural camps has been increasing daily, as has the tension. At the time of the incident, residents were still traumatised after the Abia and Abako attacks, in which 4,500 people were affected. According to WFP, an additional 200,000 civilians fearing for their safety were reported to have gathered in IDP camps in rural areas of Lira district following the Barlonyo attack. There has also been a significant increase in the number of night commuters, including entire families, as opposed to only children in previous months. The army has advised that small IDP camps merge or join larger ones to facilitate easier protection and coordination.

Rising ethnic tension

Meanwhile, ethnic tension has persisted, pausing a potential for violence, as inter-ethnic clashes between some groups of Langi and Acholi people broke out after the attack (the LRA is largely composed of ethnic Acholi). On 25 February, a day of mourning for massacre victims in Lira town, mourners turned violent and, according to press reports, five Acholi civilians were killed and others beaten. It is feared that inter-ethnic fighting might become a much more prevalent aspect of the conflict, and this could be very dangerous.

President Museveni apologizes for massacre

President Yoweri Museveni visited Lira Referral Hospital on 24 February and made a public apology for the massacre. While visiting numerous people who were injured in the attack, President Museveni blamed the incident on what he called lack of coordination in the UPDF command in Lira. He said the Barlonyo camp was illegal and that the army should not have allowed it to develop around a military detachment that had been set up to monitor rebel movement. The Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Edward Ssekandi, also led a delegation of parliamentarians to Gulu, Kitgum and Lira on 27 and 28 February to assess the impact of the rebel insurgency on the people in the affected areas. They toured IDP camps and hospitals filled to capacity, and the Speaker conveyed a condolence message from Parliament.

b) Gulu, Kitgum and Pader: LRA attacks continue

The region continues to suffer from LRA attacks, with abductions and killing of civilians in many places. During the reporting period, sporadic, small attacks by the LRA continued in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader. Rebels reportedly move in small groups of three to ten. On 13 February, rebels killed five people in Acet, 70km east of Gulu town. The five had been working in their gardens. There were reports of an attempt by the rebels to attack the Koch-Goma IDP camp on 15 February. The rebels were reportedly repulsed and retreated north of Koch-Goma, abducting an unspecified number of civilians as they fled. On 18 February, about 21 LRA rebels disguised as government soldiers entered Awer camp located 20 km west of Gulu town and looted foodstuffs and other property. One man was killed and four abducted in the incident. Tension remained high in northern Uganda as it was not clear where the group of rebels that attacked Barlonyo camp had retreated. Residents and local officials fear that the rebels could strike again. In Pader district, the LRA reportedly entered Kalongo town at least twice during the reporting period, abducting people and looting property. However, the UPDF reportedly rescued 40 children born in LRA rebel captivity and 22 child mothers in Pader district between 15 and 21 February. Press reports quoted the commander of the Pader-based 509 Brigade as saying that most of the children belonged to LRA rebel commanders and were under six years old. Army sources were also quoted as saying that the UPDF had rescued 19 formerly abducted people in Pader district.

c) Teso region remains calm despite LRA presence

Teso region generally had relative calm in February, as was the case in January. There were no reports of attacks or raids in the region in the reporting period. There have been unconfirmed reports from IDPs about rebel movements in the areas of Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts bordering Lira district. The attacks in Lira district, which shares borders with Katakwi and Kaberamaido, are of great concern. In most cases IDP camps in Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts are protected by Arrow Boys, whom IDPs say are few in number. As a result of the relative calm, IDPs continue to gradually move from Soroti to Katakwi, to camps closer to their homes. Some remain in Soroti municipality but move back and forth to their homes. According to a recent inter-agency assessment in the region (23-28 February), the IDP population is increasing in camps in Katakwi. A thorough registration and verification system for Teso region (Soroti, Katakwi and Kaberamaido) would help in ascertaining IDP statistics.

d) Karamoja: Disarmament exercise continues

The UPDF continued with the operation to recover guns from warriors in Moroto district. Up to ten people, including civilians, Karimojong warriors, government soldiers and LDUs, were reportedly killed in the exercise as warriors clashed with the army. The local press, quoting an army source in Moroto district, reported that heavily armed Pian Karimojong pastoralists had entered the northwestern parts of Sironko district with more than 600 head of cattle and over 100 guns. According to government, the Karimojong warriors have acquired more than 80,000 guns, compared to the estimated 40,000 they had at the beginning of the disarmament exercise in December 2001. The exercise has so far yielded about 12,000 guns, according to information from the army.

II. Access

a) Northern Uganda - The fluid security situation continues to pose a challenge to access. WFP has continued food distribution in IDP camps under military escort. Majority of IDPs have limited access to their gardens. In some camps, return to the villages to harvest food is organized by the UPDF, while in others, it follows deployment patterns. There will generally be little cultivation in many areas during the coming wet season and, consequently, continued dependence on food aid.

b) Teso region - In Soroti, Katakwi and Kaberamaido, however, the relative security has made it possible for the movement of humanitarian staff to distribute emergency services to the displaced people. There is free flow of civilian traffic throughout Soroti district, and although the security in parts of Katakwi and Kaberamaido can be described as fluid, passenger vehicles ply the route to Lira, Katakwi and Moroto without military escort.

c) Roads - The roads in many areas of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Katakwi, Soroti and Kaberamaido districts are in very poor condition, making movement very slow and difficult, or impossible in some cases, even with the availability of military escort. The road condition is expected to worsen in the coming months when the rains start, unless maintenance work is carried out.

III. Humanitarian assistance to IDPs

a) Pabbo camp relocation in pipeline

Plans are underway to relocate the displaced people from Pabbo camp, which suffered extensively from fire outbreaks in early February. On 28 February, an emergency planning meeting was held in Gulu to discuss progress in the planning process for the relocation of 50% of the current population in the camp to five sites. District authorities and representatives from UN agencies, several NGOs and the UPDF attended the meeting. The district authorities reported that they were involving camp residents and leaders, and the UPDF, among others, in the planning process. The district engineer said the planning exercise in four of the sites was nearing completion, and that the plans include facilities such as schools, health centres, access roads, and provisions for water and sanitation. The UPDF is also involved in planning for security in the new sites. Some organisations have indicated that they would provide assistance in a number of areas, including: health, agricultural support, and sanitation through the provision of mobile toilets.

b) Shelter and household items

Gulu - Following the fire outbreaks in a number of IDP camps in Gulu district, a comprehensive assessment was conducted and revealed that more than 6,300 households were affected. Of these, 5,467 were in Pabbo; 110 in Awer; 569 in Teya-Padhola, and 76 in Pagak. In Opit and Palenga, 60 and 30 households respectively were reportedly affected, although these statistics have not yet been verified. The impact of the fire in Awere had not yet been assessed by the reporting time. In the aftermath of the fire outbreaks, a number of NGOs responded by providing emergency assistance to the IDPs. The Uganda Red Cross Society provided blankets, saucepans, jerrycans and soap to 3,111 households in Pabbo. World Vision International distributed bamboo poles, polythene sheeting and sisal rope to 5,010 households, to assist in the construction of new shelters. ACORD provided blankets, jerrycans, soap and saucepans, cups and plates to 186 households in Pagak and Awer. UNICEF/NRC distributed used clothes, saucepans, basins, jerrycans, blankets, plastic sheets, soap, plates and cups to 2,796 households. However, during the planning meeting of 28 February, the district authorities expressed concern that some camps that had suffered from extensive fire damage had still not received assistance. The Uganda Red Cross Society Gulu Branch indicated readiness to resume their non-food distributions and to cover the outstanding needs in the camps that had not been served, including Awere, Opit, Palenga, Amuru and Teya-Padhola.

Lira District - Following the 21 February attack in Lira, several organisations have distributed non-food items to IDPs in camps. The items include: blankets, jerrycans, saucepans, soap, plates, cups and tarpaulins. Some organisations plan to distribute seeds and hoes to assist the IDPs in farming.

Teso region - Most schools and public facilities in Soroti municipality are still occupied by displaced persons. UNICEF is funding the construction of learning centres at three sites within Soroti municipality to accommodate an additional 24 classrooms. Decongestion of schools in the municipality will take some time as displaced persons still lack the confidence to return to their homes before the rains. The new campsite, Nakatunya, where IDPs are currently constructing their shelters, can only accommodate 10,000 displaced persons. Another campsite that district authorities have identified can only accommodate 2,000 IDPs. According to a recent verification exercise by WFP and CCF, Soroti municipality has an estimated 87,108 displaced persons, and 75% of the displaced population in the municipality originate from Katakwi. In Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts, IDP camps have been built with no regard to the spacing between huts and the provision of sanitation facilities. The inadequate spacing between the huts, coupled with the nature of construction materials, present a risk of a fire hazard for most of the camps.

c) Water and sanitation

Water is increasingly becoming a problem for IDPs in northern and eastern Uganda. In Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts, most camps are suffering from water shortage and people queue for long hours trying to collect water from the few available boreholes. Similarly in Soroti municipality and in the sub-counties, IDPs spend between 45 minutes to an hour filling a 20-litre jerrycan of water. Even in the new Nakatunya camp, water is not available most of the time in the tank installed by Concern Worldwide. District authorities claim that the problem is due to non-payment of bills for water consumed by the IDPs to the national water authority, which has also banned the drilling of more boreholes in the municipality. Although the Office of the Prime Minister discussed the issue of payment with the Ministry of Lands, Water and Environment, it appears that the bills are still piling.

The sanitation situation in Soroti municipality, however, presents a better picture. World Vision has provided 300 units of mobile latrines to Nakatunya camp and 200 to 65 IDP sites in the municipality. WVI has also trained the IDPs in maintaining the latrines and relocating them once filled; and has distributed sanitation materials to keep the latrines clean. UNICEF has provided 357 latrines to the Soroti District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) with funds for pit excavation and installation.

In Katakwi, Concern Worldwide and Lutheran World Federation are currently the only agencies trying to address the sanitation needs in the numerous IDP camps. There remain inadequate latrine facilities in all camps in the district and this is a potential health emergency once the rains start. However, UNICEF is providing 128 latrines to the Katakwi DDMC with funds for pit excavation and installation. The sanitation in IDP sites in Kaberamaido district is worrying. There are no latrine facilities within the camps and IDPs resort to using the fields for nature's calls. UNICEF is intervening through the provision of 197 latrines to the Kaberamaido DDMC with funds for pit excavation and installation. Additionally, there is poor waste management and garbage is littered close to the dwellings.

d) Health and Nutrition Activities

The health sector in Soroti municipality is improving. There is a procedure with the Ministry of Health for nutritional screening and referrals to outpatient departments (OPDs) and Soroti hospital in 10 of the 65 camps. According to MSF (F), which has largely been intervening in health in the municipality during the emergency, the malnutrition rate amongst the under-fives has reduced to pre-rebel incursion level. The rate has reportedly dropped from 430 children admitted at the Therapeutic Feeding Centre (TFC) during the peak of the crisis to about 20 children per month currently. Besides the TFC, MSF is also supporting two outpatient departments in two camps within Soroti municipality. Malaria is reported to be the most prevalent disease amongst the IDPs.

Emergency supplies and equipment - In Gulu district, UNICEF has provided 1,080 Mosquito nets, 100 cartons of clean delivery kits (mama paks), 100 drug kits and First Aid boxes. UNICEF, together with Lira district, provided Lira District Hospital with non-food items, including: clothing, soap, blankets, basins, cups and plates, mattresses, and tents as immediate relief following the influx of patients from the attack on Barlonyo camp.

Home-Based Care in IDP Camps - 292 Community Resource Persons (CORPs) in Gulu were trained in home-based care (HBC) and record keeping. 100 of them were to receive drug and first aid kits, as well as their certificates in the first week of March. Eight health unit kits of buffer stock drugs for HBC intended for training and equipping CORPs in the eight emergency districts of northern and eastern Uganda were handed over to the Gulu District Director of Health Services (DDHS). A tool for monitoring and recording HBC activities has been developed and the CORPS are pre-testing it as part of their training in Gulu. Discussions have been held between the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaria Consortium-ADB, UNICEF and other partners to harmonize the tool with existing monitoring tools. The Office of the DDHS in Gulu has been key in the development of the tool. In Lira, 400 CORPs were trained in HBC.

UNICEF staff participated in the development of the programme plan of action for Pader district to ensure inclusion of HBC and other emergency responses such as latrine construction, provision of water, learning centres and outreaches.

In Teso, UNICEF continues to support the region's District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs) in the training of community based resource persons to carry out HBC in the IDP sites. 100 resource persons are being trained per district, with each person being provided with a mama kit, a pharmaceutical kit and a first aid kit. In addition, UNICEF provided pharmaceuticals/ORS and gloves for health facilities throughout the three districts of Soroti, Katakwi and Kaberamaido.

Therapeutic and Supplementary Feeding Centres - The first workshop to review national protocols for feeding was held on the 18 February and the second one took place on 2 March, with a third scheduled for mid March. UNICEF, MOH and other partners participated. In Lira, 30 health workers were trained in the management of severe malnutrition. In a bid to prevent malaria in children enlisted in TFCs, 3,960 insecticide treated nets (ITNs) were distributed to TFCs in Lira, Gulu, Kitgum, Pader and Soroti districts.

e) Food Aid/ Food Security

Most IDPs in northern and eastern Uganda still depend on food aid supplied by WFP for a large portion of their food needs. The dry season further limits cultivation to supplement the food aid. In Lira, following the rebel attack on Barlonyo IDP camp, WFP started distributing food assistance to the survivors of the massacre. On 26 February, 40 metric tonnes of food - enough for 5,000 people for a month - were trucked from Lira town to Ogur health centre located five km from Barlonyo camp, where most survivors have congregated. Following the incident, WFP provided 4.6 metric tonnes of food to Lira's district hospital for those injured in the attack. In the aftermath of the massacre, an additional 200,000 civilians were reported to have gathered in IDP camps in rural areas of the district. This brings the total IDP caseload in Uganda back up above 1.5 million, even after having reduced the Teso sub-region caseload as IDPs there have begun to move home.

Beginning 2 March, WFP led an Emergency Response Team comprising OPM, OCHA, UNICEF, FAO, Lira DDMC and NGOs to conduct a comprehensive assessment of all rural IDP camps in Lira. According to WFP, the increasing food need for over 1.5 million IDPs in Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Katakwi, Soroti and Kaberamaido districts; 150,000 refugees and other vulnerable individuals has resulted in a pipeline shortfall of 57,132 tons of commodities (42,803 tons of cereals and 14,329 tons of corn soya blend) from February through September 2004.

FAO has distributed seeds and tools to 22,000 vulnerable households in Lira, Katakwi and Kapchorwa for this season.

f) Protection

In Teso region, 16 social workers received 12 days training on trauma, psychosocial activities, tracing, reunification and follow-up activities, carried out by the Transcultural Psycho-social Organization (TPO) and jointly funded by Save the Children (Norway) and UNICEF. UNICEF began establishing a tracing programme with Probation Officers and NGOs, to enable the reunification of separated children within Teso region.

Return and reintegration of formerly abducted children - Seventeen children were air lifted to their home districts. Of these, 11 (seven boys and four girls) were transported from Lira to Pader, and six (three girls and three boys) from Gulu to Pader. Five people (women and children) have also returned to Gulu from Sudan.

Tracing of unaccompanied children - The tracing forms developed for Teso region were introduced to Lira following the attack on Barlonyo camp. Thirteen children were found in the hospital with no identified family, five of them as young as three months old. The district Probation and Social Welfare office is carrying out the tracing.

IV. Short Notes

a) Parliament wants north declared disaster area

There have been repeated calls on government to declare northern Uganda a disaster area. Parliament on 25 February unanimously passed a motion declaring the war-ravaged areas of north and eastern Uganda humanitarian disaster areas. The Donor Group on Northern Uganda, Amnesty and Recovery from Conflict, on 27 February, endorsed Parliament's resolution and repeated their call on government to "explore all avenues to resolve the conflict, including helping to create a climate in which a negotiated solution might be found". In a statement presented to the Speaker of Parliament by the Group chair and European Commission Head of Delegation, Ambassador Sigurd Illing, the Group rejected the assertion that donors' restrictions on Defence Expenditure have impeded the UPDF's capacity to defend citizens against rebel attacks.

However, Cabinet on February 26 advised that Parliament has no constitutional authority to declare any part of Uganda a disaster area, saying that such powers only lie with the President. Cabinet further said that the Parliamentary resolution was not justified. President Museveni, on 3 March, also said at a press conference that there is no justification for the resolution. The President said that many parts of northern Uganda are not as insecure as they have been portrayed, and that "the problem is shrinking".

b) African Union offers to fight LRA

Heads of State and Government from across Africa, while attending an extraordinary African Union summit in Libya, 27 and 28 February, passed a resolution condemning the activities of the LRA and offered to help end the 18-year-old insurgency through an African Intervention Force. President Museveni, addressing journalists at a press conference in Kampala on 3 March, welcomed the solidarity, but said Uganda had the capacity to end the conflict without such an intervention.

c) OCHA IDP unit visits Uganda

The Humanitarian Coordinator and OCHA facilitated the visit of two officials from the IDP Unit in Geneva between 26 February and 4 March 2004. Mr. John Rogge, Senior IDP Advisor and Ms. Beatrice Bernhard, IDP Advisor, were in Uganda to identify the gaps in addressing the IDPs crisis. Their mission was a follow-up to the findings of the IDP Response Matrix and the recent workshop on "The Future International Response to Internal Displacement" held in Geneva on 4 February. The duo visited Gulu and Lira to assess the situation in the IDP camps and the level of assistance provided, and to observe the current coordination mechanisms in the field. In Kampala, they held meetings with the humanitarian Coordinator, UN Heads of Agency, the ICRC, donors and NGOs. They also met with senior government officials, including Lt. Gen. Moses Ali - First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Disaster Preparedness & Refugees. Based on the findings, the Unit will make recommendations to the Emmergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) on ways to strengthen or broaden existing humanitarian and development programmes for IDPs. The Unit will also propose concrete actions that the ERC could take to support resource mobilization for the UN Country Team at headquarter level.

 

Stay in the forum for Series One hundred and eighty-five on the way   ------>

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"