Ugandan rebels attacked a group of women collecting firewood in a remote village near the Sudanese border, hacking off their lips, ears and breasts, a government official said yesterday. Fighters from the Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) have stepped up attacks on civilians and troops after the most significant peace talks for a decade stalled late last year. ?In Kitgum district yesterday the rebels caught seven women and cut off their breasts and lips,? said Col. Walter Ochora, chairman of Gulu district, epicentre of the 19-year conflict.

The total number of injuries was not immediately clear, with one newspaper saying only three women had been mutilated, but several others abducted, in the attack in Agoro sub-county, about 20 km (12 miles) north of Kitgum town. The state-owned New Vision newspaper said one of the youngest rebels, aged about 16, cut off the victims? lips. The rebels, who roam the forests and savannah of the north, are difficult to contact for comment. Leaders in northern Uganda say the cult-like LRA has conducted hundreds of similar attacks during its campaign, saying the rebels conduct the mutilations to terrorise the population. Ochora, the top government official in Gulu, warned of the threat of more attacks.

<B>Daniel WALLIS</B>