Army Rescues 144 Children
Dec 22, 2002
A TOTAL of 124 children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels will spend this year’s Christmas free from torture.
By Catherine Ntabadde
A TOTAL of 124 children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels will spend this year’s Christmas free from torture.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) rescued the children during several battles with the rebels in Gulu district in the last four days.
The UPDF fourth division spokesman, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said in a statement yesterday that of the 124 children, 87 escaped during two UPDF attacks in Pabbo and Guru Guru in Gulu on December 17.
“In Pabbo, the UPDF troops ambushed a group of rebels who dropped quantities of food equivalent to two truck-loads. In Guru Guru, the army attacked another group of rebels, killing three, including the notorious commander, Komakech,†Ankunda said.
He said an attempted attack on Amuru camp was repulsed by the UPDF on December 18, leading to the rescue of 17 children.
“Eight more children were rescued following a battle in Anaka on December 18.
Another 12 were rescued from Awere, Olwal and Okidis. During the battle in Awere on December 19, five adult rebels were killed and two wounded,†Ankunda said.
He said the children started reporting to the UPDF barracks in Pabbo, Palabong and Anaka on December 18.
“Some of the rescued children were only 12 years old. Many of them had torture wounds inflicted on them by the rebels,†Ankunda said.
He said most of them could not walk after they were tortured for allegedly trying to escape. Ends
A TOTAL of 124 children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels will spend this year’s Christmas free from torture.
The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) rescued the children during several battles with the rebels in Gulu district in the last four days.
The UPDF fourth division spokesman, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said in a statement yesterday that of the 124 children, 87 escaped during two UPDF attacks in Pabbo and Guru Guru in Gulu on December 17.
“In Pabbo, the UPDF troops ambushed a group of rebels who dropped quantities of food equivalent to two truck-loads. In Guru Guru, the army attacked another group of rebels, killing three, including the notorious commander, Komakech,†Ankunda said.
He said an attempted attack on Amuru camp was repulsed by the UPDF on December 18, leading to the rescue of 17 children.
“Eight more children were rescued following a battle in Anaka on December 18.
Another 12 were rescued from Awere, Olwal and Okidis. During the battle in Awere on December 19, five adult rebels were killed and two wounded,†Ankunda said.
He said the children started reporting to the UPDF barracks in Pabbo, Palabong and Anaka on December 18.
“Some of the rescued children were only 12 years old. Many of them had torture wounds inflicted on them by the rebels,†Ankunda said.
He said most of them could not walk after they were tortured for allegedly trying to escape. Ends