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What happened
President Yoweri Museveni used Uganda's military to battle the two main rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Thousands of children fell victim to the war - abducted by both the LRA and the ADF to serve as fighters or porters. As the conflict between the Government of Uganda (GOU) forces and armed insurgent groups intensified in late 1996, the GOU military began encouraging rural people in affected areas to move into protective camps. However, the military provided only a short period for the move and undertook little preparation for the influx of people to the protective camps. Some international observers thought a peace deal was going to be reached in October 2006. LRA leaders (though not Kony) met with GOU negotiators in the town of Juba in Southern Sudan. However, the talks broke down relatively quickly as both sides violated their predetermined conditions of the negotiation. LRA forces moved from their designated area along the Sudanese-Ugandan border and GOU forces assembled in unauthorized portions of Northern Uganda. The talks were also at an impasse. The main discussion was about the charges brought on Kony and four LRA leaders by the ICC. The LRA claimed they would sign a peace deal after the charges were dropped, while GOU negotiators demanded that a peace deal be in place before they discussed dropping the charges. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/uganda.htm Many of the children were rescued by the Ugandan military and others found the opportunity to escape despite fear of being killed or re-abducted. The pressure by the Ugandan army decimated rebel ranks significantly.
Response and intervention
No details available. Gulu Support the Children Organization (GUSCO) ensured that the child abductees resumed school/vocational training through apprenticeship programs. They provided basic counseling support to the families of the war-affected children. GUSCO encouraged parents/guardians to form selected interest groups to advocate for the plight of the child abductees. After the children were rehabilitated, they were resettled and GUSCO monitored them for at least twelve months. Gulu Support the Children Organization (GUSCO) - UG-GUS-20031001-00089 10 year old girl was released because the overall commander ordered the release of his wife so the girl benefitted. She then found her way to Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) and was turned over to Gulu Support the Children Organization (GUSCO).