Less than 30 percent of people who were displaced by the Lord's Resistance Army at the height of its insurgency remain in camps across Northern Uganda.
A February report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says a generally calm security situation prevails in much of greater northern Uganda. It quotes newly released figures on population movement in northern Uganda which show that the return of IDPs is proceeding across the Acholi region.
Only 30 percent of original IDPs remaining in camps as of February 2009. This represents a 9% decreased since November 2008.
According to the new figures, some 79,000 additional people from the Acholi sub-region returned to their villages of origin in the three months since December 2008.
Despite the general calm, the UN report indicates that people in rural Northern Uganda are still facing a number of challenges in their resettlement back home.
During the month of February 197 households in Gulu District were affected by fires that destroyed 307 huts in Parabongo camp. The affected households have since been provided with plastic sheeting, saucepans, plates, cups and jerrycans by aid agencies.
Fires also destroyed a total of 14 huts in the sub-counties of Paimol, Wol and Lukole in Pader District during the month.
Additionally, 44 huts in Pader Town Council were forcibly demolished by the local authority to clear the way for opening up of roads and sanitation lines, leaving the occupants homeless. In response, the Pader Camp Phase-Out Working Group successfully advocated for a halt to the evictions until the protection concerns of the affected population have been integrated into the exercise.
In Karamoja, an assessment by the Moroto District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) found that 21 of a group of Karimojong who had attempted to settle in an area between Moroto and Katakwi districts had been assaulted. 30 huts belonging to the migrants were torched.
