UGANDA: Ugandan rebels massacred 192 villagers in a crowded civilian camp in an attack described by officials as one of the bloodiest atrocities of northern Uganda's long-running war.
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) opened fire on Barloonyo camp on Saturday evening, attacking first with mortars and assault rifles, then setting fire to grass-thatched huts where terrified residents were cowering.
Local MP Mr Charles Anjiro visited the camp yesterday morning. "The scene is terrible, it's the worst situation I've ever seen in my life," he said from nearby Lira, 155 miles north of Kampala.
The massacre has again highlighted the inability of the Ugandan army to defeat the LRA, a bush army of mostly brainwashed children led by the mysterious and ruthless Joseph Kony. His soldiers attack villages and camps by night, mutilating adults and snatching young children. The abductees are frog-marched to training camps deep in the bush where they are brutalised, indoctrinated and then handed a weapon and forced to fight. Up to 80 per cent of the LRA forces are children.
Kony, who has been fighting since 1986, believes he is an emissary of God and wishes to rule Uganda using the Ten Commandments. But his forces have turned northern Ugandan into a vast ghostland - over one million people have fled their homes for poorly-protected camps, such as the one attacked on Saturday night.
According to witnesses, a small local militia force attempted to hold the LRA back but was quickly overpowered by superior fire-power. Most of the 5,000 residents fled into the bush but some remained at home, where they burned to death.
"I saw one hut with seven family members still burning and three people in the next hut were also burning," said Father Sebhat Ayele, a Catholic missionary from Eritrea, by phone from Lira. A regional army spokesman was unable to confirm the toll but described it as one of the worst attacks for several years.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court recently announced it would investigate and prosecute the LRA leadership. "The court could help stop these kinds of crimes," said chief prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo.
However, local religious leaders fear the manhunt may prolong the conflict. The prospects for peace look slim in northern Uganda. Both the LRA and President Museveni have been reluctant to engage in peace negotiations.
Instead, the fighting has increased. Eighteen months ago the Ugandan army launched "Operation Iron Fist", a military offensive to crush the LRA.
The operation drove the rebels from rear bases in neighbouring Sudan back into Uganda, where attacks on civilians intensified. Since then another 10,000 children have been abducted during LRA attacks, according to aid workers.