Thousands of children took to the streets of the northern Ugandan town of Kitgum on Monday calling for an end to the war in the region, church sources in the region said.
The children’s protest coincided with the visit of the Pope’s representative, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, to the area, northern Ugandan Archbishop John Baptist Odama said.
Police in the area estimated the marchers at around 20 000. The children carried placards, some asking the government to facilitate peace and to defend children, who have borne the brunt of the 15-year-old civil war launched by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
”Defend us and talk peace,” one placard read, while another called on the LRA rebels to stop abductions.
Thousands of children have been abducted by the LRA, which has been fighting in the region since 1988.
In recent weeks, close to 20 000 children have left their village homes every night to commute to town centres where they sleep on the streets, to avoid being abducted by the rebels.
The LRA says its fight is aimed at establishing a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments, but the cruelty of the rebels’ campaign belies that.
The group relies on abductions to boost its ranks and is believed to have kidnapped more than 10 000 children and young people since 1995.
Captured boys are forced into rebel ranks as soldiers, and girls are often turned into concubines for rebel commanders.
The march ended at Kitgum public school, where the children were addressed by government and church leaders. – Sapa-AFP