Rebels Burn Old Woman In Hut

Oct 01, 2002

They chopped off her hands, bound her by the neck, pushed her into her dilapidated hut and set it ablaze.

By Wokorach Oboi
and Ali Mao in Lira

They chopped off her hands, bound her by the neck, pushed her into her dilapidated hut and set it ablaze.
They then stood outside and watched the fire roast her to death. Neither were they moved by her plaintive cries and gasps for breath as the smoke choked the life out of her frail body.

The 65-year-old Mary Akello of Ayago parish was burnt alive in her grass-thatched hut by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels on Sunday. About 60 rebels staged the attack in which about 90 huts were set ablaze and 30 civilians abducted in attacks on two suburbs of Lira Municipality. The rebels struck at about 1:00am.

In an earlier attack on Friday, they burnt a Catholic Church-run Radio Wa in Lira. Part of the Church building which housed the radio station was also burnt. It was the second church the rebels set ablaze in the area.

Residents and security sources said the rebels tied ropes around Akello’s neck, padlocked the door and set the house ablaze.

At least 50 huts were burnt in Ayago, Railway Division and 38 others in Teso Bar in Adyel.
Five abductees: Bonny Atai, Betty wife of Sam Okello, Lilly Ayugi, Eunice Ajwang and an unidentified person, escaped.

But the fate of Lazarus Adola, Jimmy Amai and Samuel Ocak, all of Okwang Primary School, was still unknown. Okello Uhuru, Abor Ogwang, Ojok Akony, Abeja Molly, a primary four pupil of Bar Ocok, Dennis Odongo, a P.5 pupil of Corom in Erute, Sam Odongo, Jimmy Okori, Amor Kepa and Jasper Odongo were still in captivity by press time.

Lira deputy Resident District Commissioner Johnson Butamanya said the rebels wanted to abduct Lango College students and burn down the school but the plan was thwarted by a heavy army deployment there.
The UPDF 4th Division spokesman, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said the rebel attack was unfortunate and the army would beef up security in the district.

“Let the people calm down. The security situation is now going to change drastically in about a week,” Ankunda said on phone from Gulu.

Meanwhile, Dennis Ojwee reports that the UPDF rescued 24 abductees and killed two rebels in a two-day heavy exchange of fire in Paibana, Aswa county, Gulu.

This brought to 154, the number of abductees rescued since September 2.

The UPDF pursued the rebels on Friday and Saturday evening in Pabbo, Koch-Goma and Paibona in Kilak, Nwoya and Aswa counties, the UPDF 4th Division spokesman, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said.

He said one of the dead rebels was a woman. The rebels were being commanded by Odiambo in Atto Hills.
He said the army also recovered an unspecified amount of weapons during the helicopter bombardment of rebel hideouts. Eleven rebels were killed recently at Patira in Anaka.

Ankunda said the recovery of weapons indicated the extent of the army operation against the rebels.
“We shall go on to rescue the abductees from the rebels as the missions of the UPDF,” Lt. Ankunda said yesterday.

Kony rebels were yesterday said to be trying to cross back into southern Sudan with thousands of captives.
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