Rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 18 people, most of them women, in the northern Ugandan district of Lira last week, clergymen and military officials said Sunday.
"They (rebels) attacked areas near Orum displaced people's camp, which is about 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Lira town, and killed at least 18 people," Roman Catholic priest Sebat Ayala told AFP by telephone from Lira.
Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza confirmed the attack, which occurred on Thursday, but said the exact number of victims had not been established.
"We are yet to ascertain the actual figures, but some people were killed three days ago," said Bantariza.
The LRA took up arms against President Yoweri Museveni's government in 1988, ostensibly in a bid to replace it with an administration that would enforce the biblical Ten Commandments.
The group is infamous for its atrocities against civilians and abductions of thousands of children, and has been condemned by human rights groups and UN aid agencies.
Museveni has several times in the past declared that the LRA had been defeated, but the group has continued to launch horrific attacks in the north of the country.
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