Henry Mukasa
20 May 2008
Kampala — LRA rebels abducted 100 children from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central Africa Republic between February and May.
According to the Human Rights Watch, the children include young girls, who are used as sex slaves, while the boys are conscripted into the military or turned intoporters.
In a statement issued on Monday, the global human rights group called for international action against the rebels to stop their new spree of abductions and sexual violence.
The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, has since July 2006 been engaged in peace talks with Ugandan Government
"Kony and the LRA took advantage of the breathing room given to them (during talks) and appear to be terrorising civilians yet again," said Richard Dicker, the international justice director.
"Concerned governments and UN officials cannot sit by while the LRA goes on a criminal rampage, committing heinous abuses against children and other people."
The group urged the US, European Union, African Union observer governments, UN Special Envoy on the LRA-affected areas Joachim Chissano and the UN departments of political affairs and peacekeeping operations to work together to stem rebel abuses and ensure justice is done.
"They should track the LRA's movements, cut off their weapons supply, and make plans toward delivering the International Criminal Court suspects for trial," Dicker implored.
In December 2003, President Yoweri Museveni asked the UN court to try the rebels over committing atrocities on Ugandans.
In July 2005, the court issued warrants of arrest for the top five LRA leaders: Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Raska Lukwiya and Dominic Ongwen.
They were indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The army killed Lukwiya in 2006, while Otti was reportedly killed in 2007 by Kony.
The faltering Juba peace talks have been touted as the best opportunity to end the brutal rebellion that has devastated the north for more than 20 years.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
