August 29, 2005

The government estimates that deaths from violence in the north, among refugees, are running at about 5,000 a year. That means that the 1.6 million refugees are suffering an annual death rate of over 300 per 100,000 population. This is six times the death rate of the most violent nation, South Africa, and nearly as high as the death rate for American soldiers fighting in Iraq. Government records show that for every death from violence among the northern refugees, there are nine deaths from disease.  The Acholi tribe in northern Uganda has suffered at the hands of both the LRA and the Ugandan military and has suffered most of the deaths up there.