Uganda rebels abduct 130 kids
2008-05-20 17:12
Kampala - A Ugandan rebel group has abducted 130 children in recent weeks, a senior military official said on Tuesday.
"According to the information we have, the rebels took 100 children during a raid in the Central African Republic and another 30 from a Zandi community on the Sudan Congo border last month," Ugandan army spokesperson Paddy Ankunda told The Associated Press.
He said unconfirmed reports suggested the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, seized smaller numbers of children as the rebels move between their bases in the Central African Republic and Congo.
The LRA and Uganda's government have engaged in peace talks for almost two years to end the conflict, which started two decades ago, and have negotiated a final peace deal.
But early last month, rebel leader Joseph Kony failed to attend a planned signing ceremony, casting doubt over his commitment to the peace process.
Advocacy group Human Rights Watch called on Monday for international action to end the rebels' reported new spree of abductions and atrocities. It also called for the execution of international arrest warrants for the group's leaders.
While many critics have written off the peace talks, Ankunda said that the government negotiators were waiting for communication from the mediation team.
"They will outline the next steps for us," he said.
The United Nations estimates the rebel group has abducted 20 000 children since the start of their rebellion in 1986. Boys are trained as fighters and porters while the girls are used as sex slaves.
The LRA was born out of a northern rebellion that began after Museveni - a southerner - seized power in Uganda amid allegations of widespread human rights violations by his troops.
- AP