Uganda: rebel army attacks mission

Soldiers from the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) attacked the Catholic mission of Anaka, about 50km south west of Gulu, on Monday night. The Missionary News Service report that a group of Olum ('grass', as the rebels are called in Acholi language) attacked buildings in the mission and refugee camp. Several dwellings were set on fire. The government hospital nearby was untouched. MISNA says news coming through is patchy, but at least two people were killed, and 17 injured. The wounded have been taken to several hospitals in the area. The parish of Anaka is run by one Comboni missionary - Fr Italo Piffer, originally from Trentino in Italy - who is 75 years old. He is reported to be unharmed. Last month the rebels raided the mission taking a radio and other equipment. The Comboni mission is situated in a zone where the government set up a series of so-called 'protected camps' to guarantee the security of Acholi civilians, exposed to the continuous violence of the rebels. Currently more than 60,000 people crowded into camps surrounding the Anaka mission.