Uganda: next phase of relocation after attack

UNHCR is sending a four-person emergency team to Uganda to tackle the next phase of the relocation of refugees dispersed by last week's attack on the Acholi-Pii refugee camp in northern Uganda by the Lord Resistance Army rebels. More than 60 Sudanese refugees and many local villagers are now believed to have been massacred in the attack.

The newly dispatched UNHCR emergency staff will reinforce the team already in place. They will handle the transfer of more than 20,000 Acholi-Pii attack survivors from a temporary site in Kiryondongo, in Masindi district, to a more permanent camp at Kyangwali on Lake Albert. Additional local UNHCR staff are also being re-deployed from other jobs in Uganda to help with the transfer.

The transfer of refugees to their final destination in Kyangwali is scheduled to commence early next week with a fleet of 60 trucks. With one trip per day carrying 60 passengers per truck, the transfer is expected to be completed within 6 days. The 6-hour journey will include a stopover near Hoima, the district capital where the refugees will receive food and water. The stopover site could also accommodate them overnight, should the trucks break down.

Meanwhile, preparations at the refugees' final destination in Kyangwli are in full swing. Four reception centres are being established. The emergency team is surveying land and identifying plots for shelter construction and agricultural production. Blankets and domestic items for up to 4,500 families have arrived in Uganda from our regional stock in Tanzania and are now on their way to Kyangwali.