Rebels in northern Uganda have abducted a record number of children in the past year, according to Human Rights Watch. In its latest report, the group said rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army had abducted about 5,000 children since last June, compared with 100 children in 2001. “The increase in abductions is dramatic and alarming,” said Jo Becker, the author of the report. “More children have been taken in the last 10 months than in any previous year of the conflict.” The New York-based group estimates that in the LRA’s 16-year insurgency against President Yoweri Museveni’s government, the rebels have abducted 20,000 children to use as soldiers, sex slaves and labourers. The report said the LRA abducted more children last year when Uganda, with the agreement of the government in neighbouring Sudan, launched Operation Iron Fist against LRA bases there, driving the rebels into northern Uganda where heavy fighting followed. Full Story