NAIROBI, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Thousands of people forced to live in squalid camps during Uganda's 20-year war with northern rebels are sceptical ongoing talks will bring lasting peace, British charity Oxfam said on Monday. Uganda's government and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) -- notorious for beating civilians to death, mutilating victims and kidnapping children -- began talks in July 2006, raising hopes the war would end. But a study by Oxfam found that more than half of the 2 million people displaced by the fighting had remained in the camps despite a ceasefire. "Even though fear of attack and abduction by the LRA rebels has diminished significantly, communities still continue to face a range of security threats from other armed groups in the region," the report titled "Building Blocks for Peace" said. Since a ceasefire was signed in August last year, some 900,000 people have left the camps entirely, many building shelter in or close to their places of origin. But about half have either stayed in the IDP camps, or have relocated to new sites, many in remote locations where they are living without access to safe water and sanitation. The report said uncertainty over the prospects for peace had stopped many people leaving the congested camps. "I am still haunted by the past. If I see a stranger when I am alone, or if a dog barks, I get scared. The peace talks are still not finalised. The Karamojong are still raiding us. It's not yet peace," a respondent from Mucwini camp told Oxfam. The survey was conducted in 11 camps in the Acholi region of northern Uganda with 600 respondents. "The study shows that a large part of the population will only feel that their region is finally at peace once thorny issues ranging from general insecurity to resettlement are addressed," the report said.
