Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - November 13, 2006
Tim Cocks
"The situation in the camps has not changed at all," Alice Uwase Anukur, secretary general of Uganda Red Cross, which provides water and medicine to war-ravaged areas, told Reuters.
"Life in the camps isn't like anywhere in Uganda. They depend on food aid, there's little medicine and clean water. They are still overcrowded, HIV/AIDS is rife," Anukur said.
This month the government and Lord's Resistance Army rebels extended a truce, putting the breaks on decades of conflict while peace talks continue in the south Sudanese capital, Juba.
Despite growing optimism culminating in a meeting between elusive LRA leader, Joseph Kony and U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator, Jan Egeland, on Sunday, at least 1.4 million remain uprooted from their homes in northern Uganda.
Egeland, whose visit failed to persuade the rebels to release women and children in their captivity, has described Uganda's war as the world's worst forgotten emergency.
"People are uncertain to go back home. They need to see peace to believe it. They're living in fear," Anukur said.
Peace talks are set to resume later this month, but the rebels' top commanders, including Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti, have said they will never sign a final deal unless international arrest warrants for them are dropped.
Kony, Otti and three other LRA commanders are wanted in the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes including brutally killing civilians, rape, mutilation and abducting children to swell their ranks.
Several western donor countries have committed aid to the peace process, including money to provide food and water to rebel assembly areas agreed under the truce.
"We mustn't get complacent. We need continued donor support, financial and logistical to make sure this peace process is concluded quickly," Anukur said.
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