Rebels abduct 30 people in C.African Republic

Insurgents from Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army attacked a village in the neighbouring Central African Republic on Thursday and kidnapped more than 30 people, police said.

The rebels besieged the village of Fode at around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and raided local houses and stole goods and provisions, a police official in the main local town of Bangassou told AFP.

- As they left they took more than 30 people, mostly women and adolescents of both sexes - the official said.

He added that the villagers were gearing up to try to catch the attackers and liberate the abducted people.

In May LRA rebels attacked a village in the same region and locals launched a counter-attack that left two Ugandan insurgents dead and others wounded.

Ugandan LRA rebels have left more than 200 people dead in the eastern CAR since 2008, according to a local residents' association.

The LRA took up arms against the government in northern Uganda in 1988 but in recent years has moved into remote areas of nearby countries after coming under pressure from the Ugandan army.