The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned the Ugandan rebelgroup, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), for its forced recruitment ofchild soldiers.

After hearing a briefing from UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, Council President Gunter Pleugerof Germany issued a statement demanding the LRA immediately stop all attacks against civilians.

The 15-nation council said it was vital that the warring parties in northern and eastern Uganda explore "all peaceful avenues to resolve" their conflict, and allow aid workers unrestricted access to civilians.

The council also called on the Ugandan government to step up its protection of displaced persons.

It warned that such crimes as abductions, sexual violence and sexual exploitation "should not remain unpunished."

According to Egeland, some 10,000 children were abducted and forcibly recruited by the LRA, with many girls also serving as sexual slaves for the senior commanders of the group, which wants to impose the Ten Commandments of the Christian Bible as the law in Uganda.

Citing some estimates, he said minors make up 80 percent of the LRA soldiers.

Source: Xinhua