Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, which has a field office in Uganda, reports that the situation is deteriorating in Adjumani district in the north of the country. In an alert to the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva, Switzerland, LWF's representative in Uganda, Craig Kippels, writes that his agency is facing a "potentially worsening situation" in the refugee settlements run by LWF in the district.

Kippels reports that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that between 20,000 and 25,000 displaced persons in Adjumani have left their settlements in southern Adjumani and are moving to other refugee settlements in Adjumani, adjacent districts or to Southern Sudan. "This movement is being caused by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who have increased their presence and their violent activity in the area," says Kippels.

LWF-Uganda is monitoring the situation and is meeting daily with other humanitarian agencies in the area.

"LWF has begun the process of assessing what will be needed to handle the refugees who will be coming to the other settlements which are operated by the LWF in Adjumani," says Kippels. "There is already a serious concern about the availability of food, water, sanitation and shelter if the estimated numbers of refugees is correct and (should) the situation continue to deteriorate, " he adds. Kippels however cautions that it was still "too early to tell whether this situation is temporary or will become a "full-blown crisis."

ACT member Christian Aid (CAID) reports that between 25,000 and 30,000 children are believed to have been abducted since the war began nearly two decades ago. CAID reported last month that a local partner of the agency, The Concerned Parents Association (CPA), is helping children targeted by the LRA in northern Uganda. "The children are forced to walk for miles tied together at the waist and carry heavy loads of looted food and weapons. They are then trained as child soldiers or given as wives to rebel commanders," CAID reported. CPA has set up a reception centre aimed at helping young people who have escaped in Kitgum.