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Uganda
Child abductees in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) are forced to beat and sometimes kill civilians in looting operations, participate in the abduction of new children, and steal from and burn houses in their home regions. Children are forced to witness and to participate in the killings of other children, usually those who attempt to escape and are captured. The practice of using the children to collectively kill fosters guilt and fear among them, and sends a powerful message to the children of their potential fate if they attempt to escape. In addition, the brutal tactics used to control children make their personal rehabilitation and reintegration into their home communities more difficult.
Many children interviewed by Human Rights Watch were forced to participate in the beating or trampling of fellow abductees. Some of the children, while fearing to refuse the orders of the LRA, nevertheless spoke with difficulty about performing these killings. James K. told Human Rights Watch:
Just a few days before an air assault by UPDF [Uganda People’s Defense Force] helicopter gunship, there was a group of children who escaped. Two girls, aged fourteen, were captured. They were given to the group of child abductees and we were told that we must kill them with clubs. Every one of the new recruits was made to participate. We were warned that if we ever tried to escape, we would be killed in the same manner.
Twelve-year-old Susan A. reported being forced with a group of other girls to kill an adult escapee:
I saw many dead bodies in the bush. One day, a man tried to escape. After he was caught, four of us girls were forced to beat him to death. When we started crying, the LRA told us that if we cried, we would also be killed. The man pleaded with us, ‘You forgive me, you sympathize with me, please let me live.’ But the commander told him, ‘If you speak again, we will cut you to pieces with a machete.’
Susan, a 16 year old abducted by the LRA, was threatened with a gun when she refused to participate in the killing of a fellow abductee, a boy from her village:
One boy tried to escape, but he was caught. They made him eat a mouthful of red pepper, and five people were beating him. His hands were tied, and then they made us, the other new captives, kill him with a stick. I felt sick. I knew this boy from before. We were from the same village. I refused to kill him and they told me they would shoot me. They pointed a gun at me, so I had to do it. The boy was asking me, “Why are you doing this?” I said I had no choice. After we killed him, they made us smear his blood on our arms. I felt dizzy. There was another dead body nearby, and I could smell the body. I felt so sick. They said we had to do this so we would not fear death and so we would not try to escape.
I feel so bad about the things that I did … It disturbs me so much--that I inflicted death on other people … When I go home I must do some traditional rites because I have killed. I must perform these rites and cleanse myself. I still dream about the boy from my village who I killed. I see him in my dreams, and he is talking to me and saying I killed him for nothing, and I am crying.
In combat operations many child soldiers who expressed fear or reservation were beaten by their commanders into pressing ahead to the front lines. Even children without weapons were sent forward to engage the enemy. Former child recruits witnessed large numbers of children killed in such actions. Timothy, a 14 year old captured by the LRA, recounted his experience in Sudan:
I was good at shooting. I went for several battles in Sudan. The soldiers on the other side would be squatting, but we would stand in a straight line. The commanders were behind us. They would tell us to run straight into gunfire. The commanders would stay behind and would beat those of us who would not run forward. You would just run forward shooting your gun. I don't know if I actually killed any people, because you really can't tell if you're shooting people or not. I might have killed people in the course of the fighting . . . . I remember the first time I was in the front line. The other side started firing, and the commander ordered us to run towards the bullets. I panicked. I saw others falling down dead around me. The commanders were beating us for not running, for trying to crouch down. They said if we fall down, we would be shot and killed by the soldiers.
In Sudan we were fighting the Dinkas, and other Sudanese civilians. I don't know why we were fighting them. We were just ordered to fight.
Charles, a 15 year old abducted by the LRA reported,
After training in Sudan, the rebels sent me back to Uganda. I was to be part of a group that would attack trading centers in Kitgum and abduct new children. I was well-armed, a soldier already. As we were returning, we were attacked by government soldiers. The frontline was somewhere ahead of where I was, and the commander said, “Run, run to the front-line!” It didn't matter whether you had a gun or not. If you did not run they would beat you with sticks. Many children without guns had to run to the front.
You are not allowed to appear to be thinking too much. If you had a gun, you had to be firing all the time or you would be killed. And you were not allowed to take cover. The order from the Holy Spirit was not to take cover. You must have no fear, and stand up as you run into fire. This was because they said you would be protected by the Holy Spirit if you stood tall and had no fear. But if you took cover, the Holy Spirit would be angry and you would be shot dead by all the bullets.
So many, so many were killed.
See: The Scars of Death: Children Abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, September 1997, http://www.hrw.org/reports97/uganda/ and Stolen Children: Abduction and Recruitment in Northern Uganda, March 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/uganda0303/
April 2008
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