Ugandan villagers bear the brunt of violence

[dArKeR]

Lira - An obviously distraught and incoherent Amon Ogwang is devastated. Alone in the world, he has found refuge in the compound of the main Protestant church in the Ugandan town of Lira.

On November 5, rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked his village in Aloi, about 22km east of Lira town, forcing him to flee.

"They killed my wife in front of wives by cutting her with machetes and beating her with big sticks," Ogwang told Reuters.

"One of my children ran away and I have no idea where he is. I have nothing now except the clothes on me."

The rebels are feared for their brutality and for abducting thousands of children for use as sex slaves and front-line fighters in the East African country's 17-year-old civil war.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1068470297443B225&set_id=1

[rumguy]

1. Uganda is a beautiful country

It's to bad there's such lingering violence. It has such a sad history, with Idi Amin, etc. There was a time it was considered the jewel of East Africa and renowned for its university in Kampala. I was in Kampala in 1999 for New Years Eve and was struck by the vibrancy and optimism there. It seemed like a very up and coming place, and actually really safe too in terms of random crime. It's a great city that is built on a series of hill-tops...and I must say I found some great restaurants there...one morning I set out early by myself and found a little spot tucked away in an alley...and had, honest to god, the best scrambled eggs and homemade bread I've ever tasted.

I hope Kampala is still going as strong as it was then...

[dArKeR]

2. The war the world forgot

A top UN official on Tuesday described the 17-year-old rebel war in northern Uganda as the worst forgotten humanitarian crisis on earth.

"The conflict in northern Uganda is the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today," Jan Egeland, UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told a news conference in Nairobi after a two-day visit to Uganda.

"I was shocked, it is a moral outrage what has happened and is happening," he said, adding that the war waged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government had led to the displacement of 1,3-million people.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=23375