KAMPALA, June 1 (AFP) - At least 170 people, including 55 civilians, 108 rebels and six government soldiers were killed in May during battles with Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in northern Uganda, the army said on Tuesday.

"We lost six soldiers and nine injured during the same month, while at least 55 civilians were killed by the rebels in different parts of the region. Our forces killed 105 rebels," Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda told AFP from Gulu, quoting the army's monthly report.

He particularly cited the attack on Pagaka displaced persons' camp, where 23 civilians were killed on May 17, and 26 at another raid on Lokodi on May 20, all in Gulu district, although aid agencies put the death toll in Lokodi at 42.

During operations in the region, 144 abductees, mainly children, were rescued, while 51 rebels, including 11 commanders, surrendered to the army.

"We recovered 53 sub-machine guns and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition," Ankunda said.

The LRA has been fighting government forces in northern Uganda since 1988 to replace President Yoweri Museveni's secular government with one based on the biblical Ten Commandments.

But the rebels' actions suggest they do not act according to biblical teachings. Brutality characterizes their violent campaign, which has displaced over 1.5 million people from their homes.

The rebels use children, whom they abduct from villages in the region, to swell their ranks and capture girls to turned them into sex slaves to rebel commanders.

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Copyright (c) 2004 Agence France-Presse
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 06/01/2004 14:08:14