Ugandan rebels abduct 38 people in southern Sudan

Nairobi_(dpa) _ Suspected members of the Ugandan rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacked a church parish in the southern Sudanese town of Nangere, abducting least 38 people, according to news reports in Nairobi Friday.

"They destroyed the health centre, raped women; they plundered all the property and abducted civilians," Nangero County Governor, Lino Uto Takwari told US-funded Sudan Radio Service Friday.

Although the kidnapping occurred last Sunday, news of the incident only filtered to the governor's office Friday owing to poor communication systems within the fledgling government of South Sudan.

Four abductees, including a priest have since been released but the remaining 33 were believed to be still in the hands of the rebels.

LRA rebels have been fighting the Ugandan government from bases in southern Sudan, but pressure from both the Sudanese army and Ugandan troops sent there three years ago has forced many fighters to scatter into smaller groups within Uganda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Led by the elusive Joseph Kony, who says he wants to rule Uganda by the Ten Commandments, the LRA is known for abducting thousands of children to turn them into child soldiers, while female abductees have been turned into sex slaves. dpa ebk sc