UN HUMANITARIAN WORKERS TRAVELLING TO MASSACRE SITE IN NORTHERN UGANDA

UN HUMANITARIAN WORKERS TRAVELLING TO MASSACRE SITE IN NORTHERN UGANDA

NEW YORK, 23 February (OCHA) -- On Saturday, rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army brutally attacked Barlonyo camp for internally displaced persons in Ogur county, Lira district, in northern Uganda.  Preliminary information indicates that at least 190 people were killed in the attack, some burnt in their shelters, others shot, bludgeoned, or hacked to death.  A number of wounded have arrived at the hospital in Lira.  The attack is the second in two weeks after rebels massacred around 70 people in Abia camp, also in Lira district.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will travel to the site tomorrow.  The United Nations is on standby to bring assistance to the survivors as soon as safe passage to the area is guaranteed.  The United Nations World Food Programme is ready to deliver food to assist the survivors, while the Uganda Red Cross Society and non-governmental organizations are prepared to provide shelter.  The 4,800 people who were in the camp at the time of the attack are being relocated to Lira town and other locations in the area.  Other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations are working with the District Disaster Management Committee in Lira to assess the needs.  Lira district houses some 120,000 internally displaced persons.

The conflict in northern and eastern Uganda has had a devastating impact on the region.  About 75 per cent of the population -- an estimated 1.4 million people -- have been displaced.  Children, in particular, have suffered enormously.  An estimated 30,000 children have been abducted since the mid 1990s.  All children are at risk of being abducted, forced to fight and commit atrocities, and subjected to sexual violence and sexual slavery.  Fear of abduction and attacks prevent most people in the camps from cultivating the land.  Economic activities have largely come to a halt and most displaced persons depend on aid for their survival.  But the provision of aid poses several challenges, among which are access to victims and their security in places of residence.

Following the recent visit of Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland to northern Uganda, United Nations agencies have been increasing their response to northern Uganda, the world’s largest neglected emergency.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 472 4570.

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