MISNA sources said that there were more raids by the Lord's resistance army (LRA) in two villages of the area of Faradje, east of the Garamba park: in the village of Nyari five people are believed to have been killed, homes were destroyed and a teen girl was taken hostage; in Kialo, a woman is also said to have been killed while the director of local school was kidnapped. Meanwhile, the regular Ugandan army - involved in a joint military operation with the RD Congo and South Sudan since last December - have moved into the very area of Faradje; Ugandan army sources said to 'Radio Okapi' that the rebels have split into smaller units, dispersing themselves strategically in the region's forests. This pattern became stronger after the Ugandan air force bombarded LRA bases, such that the level of violence increased leading to an estimated death toll of several hundred victims (894 since last September says UN). The violence also created a higher number of refugees, estimated to be 130,000, and on whose behalf the UN office of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) has already acted on their behalf; Congolese Caritas also said that it has just finished three missions to evaluate the situation on the ground of what is considered to be one of the most remote areas of the country including Doruma, Gangala, Ngilima. However, the world media is interested in Dungu, the only easy access area marked by a strong presence of refugees. [AB]
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