Hundreds of terrified internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northern Uganda walked warily along the road from Barlonyo camp, 26 km north of Lira on Monday, fleeing towards the nearby Ogur trading centre, where several thousand who had earlier escaped the latest rebel attack were already encamped.
Barlonyo camp, where the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels killed at least 200 IDPs on Saturday afternoon, was deserted. Rows of huts lay smouldering alongside burnt water cans, bicycles and personal effects. The stench of burning ash was thick in the air.
Alfred Komakech, a local militia guard at the camp, told IRIN that the rebels had out-gunned his Amuka militia guarding the camp, before setting at least 50 huts on fire. Most of those killed were burnt inside the huts. "They were armed with RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades], LMGs [light machine guns], and oher weapons that we did not have," he said.
On Monday, the Catholic church said the death toll from the attack had risen to 213 after 40 more bodies were discovered in a field 3 km from the camp. The church news service, Misna, said the bodies had been discovered by local people returning to the scene on Sunday morning.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has battled the LRA for 18 years, issued a statement blaming he incident on weaknesses within the command structure of his army. Museveni, who was expected to visit the area on Monday, said a local army commander had allowed a loosely guarded, unofficial IDP camp to be set up in the area. He disputed the death toll, saying only 84 people, 80 of them civilians, had died.
But Charles Angiro, the area of member of parliament who visited the scene on Sunday with local security officials, told reporters in Lira, 380 km north of the capital, Kampala, that he had personally counted 192 bodies in the camp, many of them badly burnt.
The attack, the most devastating on civilians in northern Uganda for nearly 10 years, occurred when about 300 LRA rebels, dressed like regular Ugandan army soldiers and armed with assault rifles and artillery, attacked the camp and overpowered the local Amuka militia posted there to protect it, Father Sebhat Ayele, a Roman Catholic priest who visited the scene shortly after the attack told IRIN. "The estimate of the dead that we have is now over 200," Ayele said.
Survivors of the massacre told IRIN at Lira Referral Hospital that the rebels had stormed the camp at about 17:00 GMT. They fired a recoilless gun into a barracks housing the 35-strong Amuka militia guard contingent before moving into the camp, which prior to the attack housed 4,800 IDPs and is sited in the bush off the main road.
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Most of the IDPs who died, the survivors said, were burned alive when the rebels set fire to their thatched huts after ordering them into their houses at gunpoint. Others trying to flee were shot, bludgeoned or hacked to death by rebels wielding clubs, machetes and AK-47s. The rebels abducted some IDPs, though it was unclear whether they were among those found killed later.
The attack comes barely three weeks after rebels massacred around 50 people in Abia camp, also in Lira District. Like the Saturday incident, the Abia camp attack occurred at about 17:00 GMT. The rebels, led by a reclusive mystic, Joseph Kony, say they want topple the government, which is dominated by southerners, and restore power to the Acholi people in the north. Yet most of the group's atrocities are committed against defenceless civilians, usually fellow Acholis.
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Again what's missing in this report is that it is muslims who are doing the massacres, and christians who are being massacred.
This message has been edited by beast. on Feb 24, 2004 12:28 PM This message has been edited by beast. on Feb 23, 2004 6:25 PM
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, operates in the north from bases in southern Sudan. More concerned with destabilising northern Uganda from bases in Sudan, the LRA has linked up with Interahamwe and anti-RCD rebels around the Bunia area.
Some have accused Sudan of supporting the LRA because Uganda allegedly supports the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the rebel movement fighting against the Sudan government. Sudanese officials have denied supporting the LRA. However, relations between the two countries have improved in recent years. In 1999, Sudan and Uganda signed an agreement under which Sudan said it would stop aiding the LRA and Uganda would stop aiding the SPLA.
The LRA continued to kill, torture, maim, rape, and abduct large numbers of civilians, virtually enslaving numerous children. Although its levels of activity diminished somewhat compared with 1997, the area that the LRA targeted grew. Insurgent groups in Uganda, the largest of which -- the Lord's Resistance Army -- receives support from Sudan -- harass government forces and murder and kidnap civilians in the north and west. They do not, however, threaten the stability of the government. The LRA seeks to overthrow the Uganda Government and has inflicted brutal violence on the population in northern Uganda, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder. LRA forces also target local government officials and employees. The LRA also targets international humanitarian convoys and local nongovernmental organization workers. Due to Sudanese support of various guerrilla movements, Uganda severed diplomatic relations with Sudan on April 22, 1995, and contacts between the Government of Uganda and the National Islamic Front-dominated Government of Sudan remain limited.
The LRA has abducted large numbers of civilians for training as guerrillas; most victims were children and young adults. The LRA abducted young girls as sex and labor slaves. Other children, mainly girls, were reported to have been sold, traded, or given as gifts by the LRA to arms dealers in Sudan. While some later escaped or were rescued, the whereabouts of many children remain unknown.
In particular, the LRA abducted numerous children and, at clandestine bases, terrorized them into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children were forced to participate in the killing of other children who had attempted to escape. Amnesty International reported that without child abductions, the LRA would have few combatants. More than 6,000 children were abducted during 1998, although many of those abducted later escaped or were released. Most human rights NGOâs place the number of abducted children still held captive by the LRA at around 3,000, although estimates vary substantially.
Civil strife in the north has led to the violation of the rights of many members of the Acholi tribe, which is largely resident in the northern districts of Gulu and Kitgum. Both government forces and the LRA rebels--who themselves largely are Acholi--committed violations. LRA fighters in particular were implicated in the killing, maiming, and kidnaping of Alcholi tribe members, although the number and severity of their attacks decreased somewhat compared with 1997.
The LRA rebels say they are fighting for the establishment of a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. They are notorious for kidnapping children and forcing them to become rebel fighters or concubines. More than one-half-million people in Uganda's Gulu and Kitgum districts have been displaced by the fighting and are living in temporary camps, protected by the army.
Forty-eight people were hacked to death near the town of Kitgum in the far north of Uganda on 25 July 2002. Local newspaper reports said elderly people were killed with machetes and spears, and babies were flung against trees. Ugandans were shocked by the brutality of the latest attack by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.
The vicious rebel attack in northern Uganda raised questions about planned peace talks between the group, the Lord's Resistance Army, and Uganda's government. President Yoweri Museveni had recently agreed to peace talks brokered by Ugandan religious leaders. The Ugandan army has been trying to crush the LRA rebellion for 16 years without success. President Museveni gave his backing to peace talks to be brokered by religious leaders. But, Ugandan army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said he believes this is a waste of time because the rebel leader, Joseph Kony, does not have any real agenda to discuss.
In February 2003 Sudan agreed to let troops from neighboring Uganda enter its territory to attack the LRA rebels who had been trying for years to overthrow the Ugandan government. The Ugandan army called on the rebels, known as the Lord's Resistance Army, to surrender or be defeated. Ugandan officials said the agreement gives them what they have long been waiting for, the chance to eliminate the Lord's Resistance Army once and for all. The agreement sets the stage for a decisive blow against rebels.
By early 2003 optimism was growing that 16 years of fighting in northern Uganda may soon come to an end. Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army declared a cease-fire and say they want to hold talks with the government of Yoweri Museveni. The pledge by the Lord's Resistance Army to cease all ambushes, abductions and attacks has been welcomed by the Uganda government. The Lord's Resistance Army was in a tight corner after its bases in southern Sudan, just over the border from northern Uganda, had been destroyed by Ugandan troops following an agreement with the Sudanese government. The rebels' main sources of food and military supplies are now back home in northern Uganda, making them much more vulnerable to attacks by government troops. But in June 2003 the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, told his fighters to destroy Catholic missions, kill priests and missionaries, and beat up nuns.
In January 2004 Ugandan Defense Minister Amama Mbabazi said that the government army had killed 928 Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels between Jan. 1, 2003 and Jan. 16, 2004. Speaking at a monthly press briefing in Bombo, suburb of Kampala, Minister Mbabazi said 791 rebels were either captured by the army or surrendered during the same period in the "Operation Iron Fist" against the LRA rebels. He said the army rescued 7,299 people abducted by the rebels. He also said 88 army soldiers died in the combat, 141 others were injured and four went missing during the period.
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Quote: "The LRA rebels say they are fighting for the establishment of a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments."
By breaking the ten commandments.....?
"They are notorious for kidnapping children and forcing them to become rebel fighters or concubines. More than one-half-million people in Uganda's Gulu and Kitgum districts have been displaced by the fighting and are living in temporary camps, protected by the army."
And murdering christians...?
"In June 2003 the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, told his fighters to destroy Catholic missions, kill priests and missionaries, and beat up nuns."
These are not christians, but muslims disguised as christians conducting the usual persecution of christians in order to execute a land grab once the christians have departed.
President of Uganda refers situation concerning Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to International Criminal Court
AFR/821 L/3055
(Reissued as received.)
THE HAGUE, 29 January (ICC) -- In December 2003 the President Yoweri Museveni took the decision to refer the situation concerning the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Prosecutor has determined that there is a sufficient basis to start planning for the first investigation of the Court. Determination to initiate the investigation will take place in the coming months.
President Museveni met with the Prosecutor in London to establish the basis for future cooperation between Uganda and the International Criminal Court. A key issue will be locating and arresting the LRA leadership. This will require the active cooperation of States and international institutions in supporting the efforts of the Ugandan authorities.
Many of the members of the LRA are themselves victims, having been abducted and brutalized by the LRA leadership. The reintegration of these individuals into Ugandan society is key to the future stability of Northern Uganda. This will require the concerted support of the international community -- Uganda and the Court cannot do this alone.
In a bid to encourage members of the LRA to return to normal life, the Ugandan authorities have enacted an amnesty law. President Museveni has indicated to the Prosecutor his intention to amend this amnesty so as to exclude the leadership of the LRA, ensuring that those bearing the greatest responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed in Northern Uganda are brought to justice.
According to the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor has to inform all States parties to the Statute of the formal initiation of an investigation. Following this the Prosecutor may seek an arrest warrant from the Pre-Trial Chamber. To take this step, the Prosecutor must determine that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation. The Prosecutor will work with Ugandan authorities, other States and international organizations in gathering the necessary information to make this determination.
President Museveni and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will hold a press conference on Thursday, 29 January 2004 at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Intercontinental Hyde Park, London.
Background
The current conflict has persisted for 17 years, during which time civilians in northern Uganda have been subjected to regular attacks. Tensions began soon after President Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986. Not long thereafter, a rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), was formed from several splinter groups originating from the former Ugandan People's Democratic Army.
According to different reports given to the Office of the Prosecutor, the situation has resulted in a pattern of serious human rights abuses against civilians in the region, including summary executions, torture and mutilation, recruitment of child soldiers, child sexual abuse, rape, forcible displacement, and looting and destruction of civilian property.
The LRA base of combatants is drawn largely from abducted villagers, particularly children, mostly aged between 11 and 15, though children younger have been taken. According to the reports over 85 per cent of the LRA's forces are made up of children, used as soldiers, porters, labourers and sexual slaves in the case of girls. As part of initiation into the rebel movement, abducted children are forced into committing inhuman acts, including ritual killing and mutilations. The total number of abducted children is reported to be over 20,000. Children are reported frequently beaten and forced to carry heavy loads over long distances, loot and burn houses, beat and kill civilians and fellow abductees, and abduct other children.
The reports mention that in order to evade capture, thousands of children have become "night dwellers", walking large numbers of kilometres to regroup in centres run by non-governmental organizations, on the streets, on shop verandas, on church grounds, and in local factories heading back to their villages at dawn.
After abduction, many younger girls are reported to be assigned as servants to commanders, enduring gruelling domestic work, with long hours and continuous beatings. Older female captives are forced to become the "wives" of senior soldiers or are given as a sexual reward for obedient boy soldiers, and hence are subjected to rape, unwanted pregnancies and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Another report stated that attacks by the LRA in the mid 1990s have forced approximately three quarters of the Acholi population to flee their homes in Gulu and Kigum/Pader districts in the north. In the past year, intensified LRA activities have led to a doubling of the population of the camps, from approximately 400,000 to 800,000.
It has also been reported that part of the violence pattern to terrorize the population includes body mutilations, cutting of hands, ears or lips of villagers suspected of government sympathies. In addition, during the course of the conflict, the LRA burned at least 1,946 houses and 1,600 storage granaries, looted at least 1,327 houses, 116 villages, and 307 shops.
The alleged crimes being committed in the region (e.g., conscription or enlisting of children under 15 years into the army, wilful killing, rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, and forced displacement of civilians) may constitute crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.
The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole committed after 1 July 2002: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, all of which are defined in the Rome Statute. States parties, as well as the Security Council can refer situations to the Prosecutor for investigation. The Prosecutor also has the power to initiate investigations on his or her own on the basis of information received from reliable sources with the authorization of the Pre-Trial Chamber.
Historical Introduction
The International Criminal Court was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998, when 120 States participating in the "United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court" adopted the Statute. This is the first ever permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished. The Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002. Anyone who commits any of the crimes under the Statute after this date will be liable for prosecution by the Court.
Jurisdiction
Once a State becomes a party to the Statute, it accepts the Court's jurisdiction with respect to crimes under the Statute. For the Court to exercise its jurisdiction, the territorial State (the State on whose territory the situation which is being investigated has taken or is taking place), or the State of nationality (the State whose nationality is possessed by the person who is being investigated) must be a party to the Statute.
National Court
The Court will not replace national courts, but will be complementary to national criminal jurisdictions. The Court will only investigate and prosecute if a State is unwilling or unable to genuinely prosecute. This will be determined by the judges. Unjustified delays in proceedings, as well as proceedings which are merely intended to shield persons from criminal responsibility will not render a case inadmissible before the Court.
Subject Matter
The Court's jurisdiction will be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. It will, therefore, have jurisdiction with respect to the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, all of which are fully defined in the Statute and further elaborated by the Elements of Crimes.
Personnel
The Court only has jurisdiction over natural persons aged 18 and above. Official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official does not exempt a person from criminal responsibility.
Commanders and superiors will also be held liable for criminal offences committed by forces under their effective command and control or effective authority and control.
Preconditions to Exercise of Jurisdiction
The Court may exercise its jurisdiction with respect to the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes either when the situation is referred to the Prosecutor by a State party or by the Security Council, or when the Prosecutor decides to initiate an investigation of his or her own decision and on the basis of information received. However, in this last case, the Prosecutor must seek the authorization of the Pre-Trial Chamber before proceeding with the investigation.
When the situation is referred to the Prosecutor by the Security Council, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction in all cases and no preconditions are applicable.
However, in the two other cases, when the Prosecutor decides to initiate an investigation on his or her own decision with the authorization of the Pre-Trial Chamber, or when the situation is referred to the Prosecutor by a State party, strict preconditions shall be met before the Court can exercise its jurisdiction.
Indeed, in those two cases, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction only if either the State on the territory of which the suspected crime occurred (State of territoriality), or the State of which the person suspected of having committed the crime is a national (State of nationality of the suspected person), is a State party to the Statute.
If neither of these two States is a State party to the Statute, the Court will not be in a position to investigate the suspected crimes, except if either the State of territoriality or the State of nationality of the suspected person accepts the exercise of jurisdiction of the Court by declaration lodged with the Registrar. Such a declaration may be made for all suspected crimes committed after 1 July 2002 (taking into consideration that crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court are not subject to any statute of limitations).
Thus, if nationals of States parties to the Statute are victims of suspected crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court in the territory of a State which is not a party to the Statute committed by persons who are not nationals of a State party, the Court would not be in a position to investigate except if either the State of territoriality or the State of nationality of the suspected person accepts the jurisdiction of the Court, or if the situation is referred to the Court by the Security Council.
For more information about the Court, visit www.icc-cpi.int.
Quote:"The current conflict has persisted for 17 years, during which time civilians in northern Uganda have been subjected to regular attacks. Tensions began soon after President Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986."
Suspicious...
Classic Sudanese islamaniac M.O. of kidnap and slave trade.:
"The LRA base of combatants is drawn largely from abducted villagers, particularly children, mostly aged between 11 and 15, though children younger have been taken. According to the reports over 85 per cent of the LRA's forces are made up of children, used as soldiers, porters, labourers and sexual slaves in the case of girls."
I come to the conclusion that the president is working with teh Sudanese to islamise the country.