Uganda rebels kidnap 350 people - Amnesty
NAIROBI, April 22 (Reuters) - Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have abducted more than 350 people in recent weeks despite peace talks that came close to ending the two-decade conflict, an international human rights group said on Tuesday.
Amnesty International said the abductions in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and southern Sudan where talks were based, were characteristic of LRA tactics throughout the war.
"These people -- including scores of women and children -- are likely to be used as child combatants and sex slaves, and yet none of the governments in the region have done anything to try to secure their release," Amnesty said in statement.
Hopes of ending one of Africa's longest-running conflicts fell when LRA leader Joseph Kony failed to appear this month at a signing ceremony on the Congo-Sudan border, stalling nearly two years of talks.
Kony and LRA fighters had been hiding in remote northeast DRC but are believed to have been moving to CAR in recent weeks.
Amnesty said the most recent abductions took place in Obo town, on the border.
"Women and girls kidnapped by the LRA in the past have been used as sex slaves, while boys and men have been forced into combat and forced to commit atrocities, as well as used as porters to carry looted property," it said.
"The governments of Sudan, the CAR and the DRC -- with the assistance of the U.N. -- must join forces to secure the safety and release of those kidnapped immediately and bring those responsible to justice."
The LRA war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted some 2 million more in north Uganda alone. (Reporting by Hereward Holland) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)
Amnesty International said the abductions in neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and southern Sudan where talks were based, were characteristic of LRA tactics throughout the war.
"These people -- including scores of women and children -- are likely to be used as child combatants and sex slaves, and yet none of the governments in the region have done anything to try to secure their release," Amnesty said in statement.
Hopes of ending one of Africa's longest-running conflicts fell when LRA leader Joseph Kony failed to appear this month at a signing ceremony on the Congo-Sudan border, stalling nearly two years of talks.
Kony and LRA fighters had been hiding in remote northeast DRC but are believed to have been moving to CAR in recent weeks.
Amnesty said the most recent abductions took place in Obo town, on the border.
"Women and girls kidnapped by the LRA in the past have been used as sex slaves, while boys and men have been forced into combat and forced to commit atrocities, as well as used as porters to carry looted property," it said.
"The governments of Sudan, the CAR and the DRC -- with the assistance of the U.N. -- must join forces to secure the safety and release of those kidnapped immediately and bring those responsible to justice."
The LRA war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted some 2 million more in north Uganda alone. (Reporting by Hereward Holland) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)
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