Kampala — THE eight Ugandan fishermen abducted by armed Congolese in the disputed Rukwanzi Island on Friday are still in captivity.

Hoima internal security officer Yahaya Kakooza said yesterday fresh contact had been made with the abductors.

The desk officer for Rukwanzi in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Drani Dradriga, said the fishermen were being held at Kasenyi on the Lake Albert side of the DR Congo.

He said diplomatic efforts to secure them had began and that they were still okay although he said he could not "guarantee what could have happened since we made contact". Another source said Uganda and Congo had agreed to administer the area jointly and described the incident as "unfortunate".

Other Ugandan sources said the fishermen may have been released since the Congolese police had ordered their immediate and unconditional release.

However, the Bugoma - Nsonga beach management committee chairman, Barnabas Bamutura, said he had lost communication with the abductees because their captors had switched off their telephones. "We think they have been taken far away from Rukwanzi. We have left everything in the hands of higher authorities," Bamutura said.

Uganda's embassy in Congo described the incident as the latest case of rivalry among Ugandan and Congolese fishermen on Lake Albert.

A source said whenever the fishermen get into a brawl, armed Congolese arrest Ugandans and demand a ransom.

In the Friday incident, Ugandan officials said the Congolese abductors demanded money, which the Ugandan fishermen did not have.

Attacks on Ugandan fishermen in the area by suspected Congolese have been reported before.