Rebels abduct two priests
2002-09-14 18:39
Kampala - Suspected rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army on Saturday
abducted several people, including two elderly Italian priests, in
a dawn raid on a Roman Catholic mission in northern Uganda, army
and church sources said.
A priest told AFP by telephone that the raiders, believed to be
members of the rebel LRA, attacked the Opiti mission in Omoro
county, about 40 kilometres southeast of the nothern
town of Gulu, at around 6:00 am (0300 GMT).
"They looted the mission and nearby settlements before abducting
two priests along with several other people who were forced to
carry their loot," said the priest, who requested anonymity.
Italy's ambassador in Uganda Mauricio Teucci gave the names of
the hostages as Ponsiano Velluto, 71, and Alex Pizzi, 63. Father
Velluto hails from Fogia in southern Italy while Father Pizzi comes
from Crema in the north.
Army spokesperson Major Shaban Bantariza confirmed the incident,
adding that a group of military officers had been flown to the area
to investigate the abduction.
"The deputy commander of the army division of the area has flown
to the mission and we hope to get details later... The Italian
priests in the area have been trying to talk peace with LRA," said
Bantariza.
Bantariza said the rebels had raided a military camp before
attacking the mission and that soldiers in the camp killed two of
the rebel fighters in the ensuing fighting.
President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday ordered the arrest of the
camp's commander for delaying an appeal for reinforcements,
according to Bantariza.
Soldiers in the camp were forced to make a "tactical withdrawal"
because they were greatly outnumbered by the rebels, the spokesperson
said, adding that the army had recovered a machine gun and a
grenade from the dead rebels.
He said the army detachment that was attacked by the rebels had
regrouped and was pursuing them.
Field radios were among items seized by the rebels at the
mission, Bantariza said.
Religious leaders in northern Uganda have met the rebels several
times since the beginning of July in a bid to broker a peace deal
between the insurgents and the government.
The LRA was set up in 1988 by former Roman Catholic catechist
Joseph Kony and its declared aim then was to overthrow President
Yoweri Museveni's government, which it accused of marginalising
northern Uganda, and replace it with a regime based on the Bible's
Ten Commandments.
Northern Ugandan politicians and church leaders who have met
representatives of the group in recent months said those they met
did not appear religious and that LRA's political objectives
remained obscure.
The group is best known for its brutality against civilians and
the abduction children and young people and making them fighters or
sex slaves.
The LRA had on August 24 agreed to most of a set of ceasefire
conditions set by President Museveni and announced a unilateral
truce, but the army continued operations against the group, killing
some of its members.
The rebels themselves carried on with their violent campaign
indicating that they have abandoned their ceasefire, dimming hopes
for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
- Sapa-AFP
- SAPA