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UGANDA: FIRE LEAVES 5,000 WITHOUT SHELTER IN A CAMP December 31, 2005
Apunyu Bonny
(SomaliNet) Northern Uganda’s Aromo internally displaced persons' (IDP) camp near Lira town was washed by fire burning over 200 huts and leaving about 5,000 people without shelter.
David Elic, the Camp commandant said the fire broke out on Wednesday and property worth over 6,000 US dollars was destroyed, including foodstuffs distributed by the World Food Program.(WFP)
He said one businessman, Richard Ojok, lost eight bags of sesame, eight bags of salt, two cartons of biscuits and eight cartons of soap.
Aromo internally displaced persons' (IDP) camp has a population of about 42,240 displaced persons.
This was the second fire outbreak in the camp this month and 64 huts in the same camp were burnt down, leaving over 140 people without shelter and food earlier this month. Elic appealed for immediate humanitarian assistance from the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness to assist the victims with food and tents, saying that the victims resorted to sleeping under trees.
Mean while Over 1.4 million people have been displaced by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels in their 19-year rebellion in northern Uganda. The current drought season is a threat to crowded huts constructed in the displaced persons' camps.