Ceasefire brings hope for enduring peace
Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Today marks the start of an historic truce between the Ugandan army and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The truce is the first in the country's 19 year civil war and raises hopes for a lasting peace in northern Uganda.
After weeks of talks in the southern Sudanese town of Juba, the two sides agreed on Saturday to lay down arms. The ceasefire took effect at 6am local time on Tuesday morning. If the truce holds, Ugandan President Museveni and LRA leader Joseph Kony are expected to sign a peace deal on September 12th.
Listen to Johnson Byamukama, Concern's acting Country Director, talking about the truce.
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To download the mp3 file click here
Under the terms of the truce, LRA troops will be given amnesty if they hand themselves in within three weeks. Uganda has pledged that it will not try to attack the rebels.
The conflict in northern Uganda has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and has left 1.8 million people displaced. The LRA has become synonymous with the abduction of children in rural areas. Over the last five years over 20,000 children have been abducted in violent raids. Boys have been forced to act as soldiers while many young girls have been taken from their homes and forced to “marry” LRA soldiers.
The 1.8 million people who have fled to the displacement camps have done so out of fear of violence and of the abduction of their children by the LRA. The result is one of the world's largest (and most unreported) humanitarian crises.
Concern is providing more than 75,000 people with water and sanitation facilities in six displacement camps in Pader, possibly the worst affected district. Many of these people have spent years in these camps without little access to livelihoods or education.
Up to last year, Concern were providing assistance to over 100,000 people in Soroti and Katakwi districts. Thankfully the security situation in these districts has improved, allowing people to return to their villages.
If the present peace process succeeds, the remaining displaced communities will be able to return home. Concern will be on standby to assist these people to return home and re-start their lives.
