100 Freed From LRA Captivity

By Dennis Ojwee“BRIG” Vincent Otti, the second in command in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group released 100 people from rebel ranks on Wednesday.The group comprised 43 women former fighters and 57 children. There was no battle prior to their release. The women told The New Vision at Atiak UPDF military base, that Otti told them to return to their homes. Many of them hail from Acholi.The women and children appeared malnourished. They were received by the deputy overall UPDF 4th Division operations commander, Col. Francis Okello, based in Atiak. Okello told reporters flown to Atiak aboard a helicopter gunship yesterday that Otti released the captives at Gunya, about 10 miles, northeast of Atiak town.“Otti has so far released the women, with kids born in captivity, but many fighters - between 200 and 500 still remain in the bush,” Okello said.He said Otti told the women to report to the Government because they (abductees) were all children of Uganda.Ends