Camp massacre rebels gunned down

The Ugandan army has killed 21 rebels who took part in last weekend’s bloody raid on a refugee camp in northern Uganda that killed scores of civilians.

The army launched attacks on two groups of the Lord’s Resistance Army in two villages near the Barlonyo Camp, where rebels last weekend shot, hacked and burned alive entire families seeking shelter in their shacks.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who visited the area yesterday, put the death toll at 84, but local officials and witnesses said more than 200 people perished.

An army spokesman said 16 rebels were killed in one attack and five were killed in the other.

“They (the rebels) were pinned down by helicopters and ground forces … These rebels were part of the group that attacked Barlonyo camp,” Lt Chris Magezi said today.

Hundreds of residents of the war-weary town of Lira, a few miles south of Barlonyo camp, took to the streets today to protest the region’s growing unrest. However, there were reports that the crowd itself turned violent, beating at least one person and clashing with police. Details of the fighting remained sketchy.