afrol News, 12 November - While the UN today deplores what it calls "one of the world's most neglected crises," the US government has announced an even stronger support for Ugandan authorities' efforts to fight the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The abduction of children and the use of child soldiers is causing a growing international outrage.

– The situation in northern Uganda, where rebels are abducting children and subjecting them to sexual abuse, constitutes one of the world's most neglected crises, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, said today. "Where else in the world have there been 20,000 kidnapped children?" he asked at a press briefing.

- Where else in the world have tens of thousands of children trekked into villages and hospitals every evening to sleep on the dirt for the night, to go back without being fed to their villages - and they do this because they are scared for their lives?, asked Mr Egeland.

The plight of children in northern Uganda has also been spotlighted by the UN as one of the 10 most under-reported news stories in the world. According to the UN, the conflict in Uganda is "one of the world's most neglected crises."

Joining Mr Egeland at the briefing was Angelina Atyam, whose daughter was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and taken to Sudan, where she was held captive and sexually enslaved for eight years. After finally being freed in July of this year, the daughter returned with two children of her own.

Ms Atyam, now the Chair of Uganda's Concerned Parents Association, told the briefing that in addition to those children who had been abducted, others had been killed. "Our region has been left behind, and that is why we are appealing," she said. "My daughter is just one of the few who managed to come back."

She called on all concerned to help Ugandans "get back our children - all our children - and stop abduction for good. Help us rehabilitate and reintegrate our children with health and education, and help us build peace, sustainable peace, through national reconciliation," said Ms Atyam.

Northern Uganda has 1.6 million internally displaced persons, as many as in the Darfur region of Sudan, which UN officials have called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. "In addition, Ugandan children suffer more abuse than any others in the world," according to Mr Egeland.

- It is mind-boggling how little international attention there has been and also how difficult it has been over the years to fund the work for the children, the reintegration of the children who have escaped, and a real response to the crisis in the north, he added. He informed that the UN was seeking US$ 158 million in donations for Uganda.

Meanwhile, the US State Department today announced that it was sticking to its close ally, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, and his fight against the LRA rebel group. "The United States is greatly concerned by the on-going humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington today.

- We continue to work closely with the Ugandan government, other governments and international agencies to alleviate the suffering, and to bring the brutal rebellion by the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony to a swift and permanent end, said Mr Boucher. "We have urged the Ugandan government to redouble its efforts to protect the children and unarmed local population of Uganda," he added.

According to the spokesman, the US is one of the principal sources of humanitarian assistance for victims of attacks from the LRA, a group termed "terrorist" by Washington. US President George Bush signed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act on 2 August this year. The Act calls for a report to Congress next February detailing the causes of the conflict and the sources of support for the LRA.

The US government provides well over 50 percent of total World Food Program (WFP) assistance in Uganda, including a contribution of US$ 62 million in 2004, according to Mr Boucher. Washington is also the closest military ally of President Museveni. The size and type of US military assistance to Uganda is not known.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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