Probe allegations of kids in UPDF â€" Amnesty

By James OdongTHE Amnesty Commission has urged the government to investigate allegations that the Uganda Defence Forces (UPDF) was recruiting children to fight the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in southern Sudan.commission boss Justice PKK Onega told the New Vision yesterday that the allegation should be investigated and if found to be true, the children should be returned and the responsible army officers reprimanded.“It is possible that some UPDF officers could be recruiting children without the knowledge of the army leadership. This is why the commission would like the government to investigate the matter and make the findings public so as to clear the air,” he said. The New Vision yesterday quoted religious and human rights groups as saying the UPDF was recruiting children, some in school uniforms, to fight against Joseph Kony’s LRA rebels.“We are disturbed to witness children of school going age, some in school uniform, in UPDF lorries being transported towards the Sudan,” Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu was quoted as saying.