By DPA
Kampala : Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered a census of all people maimed or disabled during the 20-year insurgency in the north of the country in a bid to provide them with assistance, his spokesman said Wednesday.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, wounded or maimed mostly at the hands of fighters of the cult-like Lords Resistance Army (LRA) that has been waging a brutal rebellion against Museveni’s government in the region.
Museveni wanted to provide monetary assistance to the victims, who were unable to work because they had lost their limbs, his spokesman Joseph Tamale Mirundi told DPA.
Around 1,800 people have already been registered, reports quoting an official dealing with the matter said. Richard Todwong told the Daily Mirror newspaper that “some of them need surgery, others still have bullets stuck in their bodies. Others need their lips replaced, while some of them have permanent damage like maimed arms.”
In addition, nearly 30,000 children and youths were abducted by the LRA and forced to fight or commit atrocities. Many were rescued or managed to escape from captivity.
Nearly two million people were displaced by the war. Fighting has scaled down since the peace talks to end the rebellion began in July 2006. A final peace deal has, however, not yet been signed.