Govt to relocate 9,000 IDPs
Jun 22, 2004
GULU, Monday — The Government is to move 9,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from their camps to new sites starting next month in an attempt to reduce crowding the sprawling settlements scattered all over the war-ravaged north, an army official has said.
GULU, Monday — The Government is to move 9,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from their camps to new sites starting next month in an attempt to reduce crowding the sprawling settlements scattered all over the war-ravaged north, an army official has said.
Lt. Col. Francis Achoka of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces told representatives of donor countries, who were on a fact-finding tour of the region from June 15 to 17, that the Army would provide security at the new sites.
“The new settlement will house about 9,000 people. In a month’s time, people will start moving in because we have already secured it,†Achoka told representatives from Austria, Canada, Finland, the EU, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Nations at the new site located in Jengari, near Pabbo camp.
Many of the camps are overcrowded and lack adequate health, water and sanitation facilities. They are also exposed to frequent attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of Joseph Kony.
Pabbo, which is one of the oldest camps and currently hosting 60,000 IDPs, will be the first beneficiary with some of the residents being moved to a new site.
The tour was organised by the regional support office for Central and East Africa of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Dozens of soldiers kept watch around Jengari as IDPs from Pabbo started preparing the ground for their new homes.
“We have deployed troops on top of hills so that the rebels can no longer use them as hideouts and launching pads for attacks on civilians,†a local commander said.
A fire in Pabbo earlier this year destroyed several huts and highlighted the problem of congestion in the camps.
The congestion had also resulted in a breakdown of social structures, increased crime, alcohol and drug abuse, according to local authorities.
Local authorities told IRIN that they hoped the new sites would enable IDPs to access some land where they could cultivate food to supplement rations distributed by relief agencies.
The insurgency has displaced about 1.6 million people, 80% of whom are women and children.
Ends
Lt. Col. Francis Achoka of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces told representatives of donor countries, who were on a fact-finding tour of the region from June 15 to 17, that the Army would provide security at the new sites.
“The new settlement will house about 9,000 people. In a month’s time, people will start moving in because we have already secured it,†Achoka told representatives from Austria, Canada, Finland, the EU, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Nations at the new site located in Jengari, near Pabbo camp.
Many of the camps are overcrowded and lack adequate health, water and sanitation facilities. They are also exposed to frequent attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of Joseph Kony.
Pabbo, which is one of the oldest camps and currently hosting 60,000 IDPs, will be the first beneficiary with some of the residents being moved to a new site.
The tour was organised by the regional support office for Central and East Africa of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Dozens of soldiers kept watch around Jengari as IDPs from Pabbo started preparing the ground for their new homes.
“We have deployed troops on top of hills so that the rebels can no longer use them as hideouts and launching pads for attacks on civilians,†a local commander said.
A fire in Pabbo earlier this year destroyed several huts and highlighted the problem of congestion in the camps.
The congestion had also resulted in a breakdown of social structures, increased crime, alcohol and drug abuse, according to local authorities.
Local authorities told IRIN that they hoped the new sites would enable IDPs to access some land where they could cultivate food to supplement rations distributed by relief agencies.
The insurgency has displaced about 1.6 million people, 80% of whom are women and children.
Ends