Ugandan rebel group in CAR, DR Congo abducts 296 people in 3 months

Uganda's notorious rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) abducted 296 people in Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the first quarter of this year, a report said on Friday.

The report, issued by a group of non-governmental organization monitoring activities of the rebel group shows that the 296 abductions were the biggest in a single quarter since the third quarter of 2010.

The report by U.S. charity organizations, Invisible Children and Resolve warned that there was a significant surge of the LRA violence.

It said the majority of the abductions occurred in the CAR, where the rebels abducted 252 individuals.

At least 57 children were among those abducted in CAR, 36 of whom remain in captivity or are unaccounted for, according to the report.

In DRC, the LRA abducted 43 people, the lowest quarterly figure since 2008.

Out of the 296 people abducted, 200 escaped or were released within days of being abducted.

"The majority of abductees were adults who escaped or were released within days of being abducted, meaning they were used as short-term porters of looted goods," said the report.

Source: XINHUA