UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN MISSION ARRIVES IN LIRA, UGANDA

UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN MISSION ARRIVES IN LIRA, UGANDA

(Reissued as received.)

NEW YORK, 24 February (OCHA) -- A United Nations mission with staff from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) arrived today in Lira, Uganda to assess the situation following the brutal slaughter of internally displaced persons on Saturday.  Rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army brutally attacked Barlonyo camp in Ogur county, Lira district.  Preliminary information indicated that at least 203 people were killed in the attack, some burnt in their shelters, and others shot, bludgeoned, or hacked to death.

“This attack on defenceless civilians, women and children is shocking”, said United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland.  “This senseless atrocity underscores the need for increased security in northern Uganda and protection of vulnerable civilians”, he added.  “There is urgent need for a workable solution to this 18 year tragedy”.

The mission found about 100 people still in Barlonyo camp today, who were looking for any possessions they could salvage.  Survivors from Barlonyo camp have now relocated to Ogur and Agweng camps nearby.  They are living in the open, in makeshift shelters, or with other families. 

Today, the World Food Programme (WFP) went to Ogur and Agweng camps.  The WFP has 40 metric tonnes of food ready to distribute to those who have newly arrived, an amount sufficient for 5,000 people for 15 days.  If adequate security is provided, distribution of the food will take place tomorrow.  Non-governmental organizations and the Ugandan Red Cross are providing essential non-food items.

Local officials in Lira told the United Nations that they were planning to reinforce security in the camps in the district, assigning each camp 300 militia and 50 soldiers from the army.  There are some 18 camps in rural areas of Lira district.  Due to insecurity, no assessment of the number of displaced has been conducted, but the camps are believed to house between 130,000 to 170,000 people, who have been in the camps since October.  By next week, the WFP will be ready to register and begin to assist all camps in rural areas if adequate security is provided.  Non-governmental organizations have been working in some of these areas, but insecurity has meant that this has not been done on a regular basis.

OCHA staff visited LiraHospital, which was reportedly overwhelmed by the wounded, who number 53.  Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) Holland is assisting at the hospital.  Doctors at the hospital said that they were shocked at the levels of physical trauma they witnessed.

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; or Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.:  41 22 917 2653, mobile:  41(0) 79 473 4570.

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