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'This war will never end'
25/07/2005 18:31 - (SA)
Gulu - Terecina Ayo remembers the night rebel fighters attacked, hacking to death her 12-year-old nephew and 13-year-old niece, abducting other villagers, torching thatched huts.
The widow says she survived that night four years ago by running into the bush. But she and many other survivors in northern Uganda are nonetheless scarred.
According to a survey released on Monday, 45% of the people of northern Uganda have witnessed the killing of a family member and 23% had been mutilated.
Forty percent of the 2 585 respondents said they had been abducted by fighters of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.
Being held accountable for abuse
The survey of 2 585 people, which had a margin of error of 1% to 3% points, was conducted by researchers from the human rights centre at the University of California, Berkeley and the New York-based international centre for transitional justice.
The survey also found that an overwhelming majority - 76% - wanted to see those responsible for abuses "held accountable for their actions".
The shadowy rebels have waged a campaign of murder, rape and abductions that mainly targeted four districts of northern Uganda. The conflict has forced more than 1.5m people to flee their homes in northern Uganda.
"There is no other place to go," Ayo said inside a dark, hot and smoky thatched hut at the Bobi Camp - one of about 200 sheltering people who fled their homes to escape the violence.
Others known as "night commuters" work in their villages during the day, but sleep in larger towns where they feel safer.
Farmers are unable to cultivate their fields because they fear rebel attacks and losing their crops to the insurgents.
Food and security are top priorities
Survey respondents said their top priorities are access to food and securing lasting peace.
Chronic food shortages, limited health care and unsanitary conditions in the camp have taken a toll on Ayo, a 67-year-old woman.
"This war will never end. There is no hope," Ayo said.
Some people are angry that President Yoweri Museveni has so far been unable to crush the rebellion.
"Our people are really frustrated at the government's inability to end the war. People are caught up in despair," legislator Hillary Onek said.
"It is frustrating because government says it is winning the war and yet the war continues over and over again," said Bobi camp leader Annet Kurui.
Rebel leader Joseph "Kony has stubbornly refused to co-operate", Gulu District chairperson retired colonel Walter Ochola told United Nations children agency chief Ann Veneman during her tour of the region last week.
"The killing and abduction of children will not stop unless Kony himself is killed," said Ochola.
The international community should bring local, national and international players together to develop a comprehensive strategy for peace and justice in northern Uganda, according to recommendations accompanying the survey's release.
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