Residents of a camp for internally displaced people in northern Ugandan sang and ululated at a ceremony to mark the formal closure of the settlement and the return of most of the 18,000 inhabitants to their villages now that prospects for peace seem promising.

"I declare the camp closed, for God and my country," declared Musa Ecweru, the minister of state in change of disaster preparedness, relief and refugees, as he formally announced the shutting-down on 11 September of the Atwal Railway Camp in the new district of Oyam, about 330km north of the capital, Kampala.

The mushroom-shaped grass-thatched huts of the camp are being pulled down. Most of their occupants have abandoned them to return to their original homes. They had fled a bloody, 20-year conflict pitting the Ugandan government against rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

While the majority of residents have returned to their villages, there are some still reluctant to go back, fearing that the apparent calm might not last.

"If the peace prevails up to next year, then I will go back, but currently I fear the rebels can easily return because the Juba talks have yet to succeed," said 50-year-old Charles Ayo, who has lived in the camp since 2004 after fleeing an LRA attack during which his son was killed.

"We go [to the village] to cultivate, then come back. I remain here because I can also find casual work so that I can earn some income to buy what I need. I will stay here for the rest of this year," said Ayo.

Then there are those with no homes to return to. Most are elderly and children who lost their families during the conflict or suffer from chronic illnesses.

"The decision to leave is voluntary, therefore those remaining will continue using the [camp] facilities until a solution is found," said Charles Okello Macodwogo, the chairman of Oyam district council. An estimated 3 percent of the residents have yet to return to their villages.

In 2005, the number of displaced people's camps in the northern Ugandan regions of Acholi, Lango, West Nile and Teso was put at 242, with an estimated population of 1.8 million. People have, however, been returning to their homes of origin as security improved with stepped-up military operations against the LRA and the commencement of peace talks.

By end-June 2007, it was estimated that 916,000 people remained in camps, mainly in the Acholi sub-region, while 539,000 had returned their villages. Some 381,000 people had moved to new transit settlements near their villages, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

Testing times

The returnees, however, face significant challenges.

"People are disempowered. There are no water and sanitation services in the villages. We shall need to do our outmost to empower these people trying to regain their dignity," said Catherine Amal, chief administrative officer of Oyam district.

Other challenges presented by the former residents to the authorities in a memorandum included bad roads, insufficient household utensils, environmental degradation caused by tree felling, poor health facilities and inadequate HIV/AIDS testing and counselling facilities.

"We require ox-drawn ploughs and high-yielding seeds to regain the area’s productivity," the returnees said in their memorandum.

Torrential rains have also left farms water-logged and destroyed crops, meaning that those returning were still in need of food aid.

"These people are very strong. They lost virtually everything, but they refused to lose hope. They need our help so that they regain their dignity," said Ecweru. The rehabilitating of northern Uganda was going to be a "long journey", he added.

The UNHCR representative in Uganda, Stefano Severe, described the camps being phased out as a representation of the "our sad past. Because they have gone back does not mean that all is well. We need to be there to support and accompany them back home," he said.