Passengers burned alive on bus
2005-11-21 16:06
Kampala - Rebels from Uganda's notorious rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 12 people on Monday in a grisly daylight ambush on a passenger bus in the north.
The rebels opened fire on the vehicle and then set it ablaze with the occupants still inside in Pader district, 400km north of the capital, said army spokesperson captain Chris Magezi.
"Twelve people were killed and five seriously injured," said Magezi from the Ugandan military northern headquarters in the nearby town of Gulu.
He said some of the victims were burned alive in the blaze while others died from gunshot wounds.
A church source in Gulu confirmed the incident and said most of the victims were civilians.
Army to examine its security measures
"It was a grisly act because the people were burnt inside the vehicle," the source said.
Magezi said the army was probing possible flaws in its security measures in the region that may have led to the deadly ambush.
"If these ambushes are a result of our weaknesses, strong measures are going to be undertaken," he said.
The LRA has been waging war in northern Uganda since 1988 to overthrow the government in Kampala. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.
The rebel group is best known for its brutality toward civilians in the region, driving more than 1.6 million people from their homes and abducting tens of thousands of children to serve as fighters or sex slaves.
- SAPA