Children are being abducted in record numbers in northern Uganda by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The children are subjected to brutal treatment as soldiers, laborers and sexual slaves. Since June of 2002, an estimated 5,000 children have been abducted-a striking increase from 2001, when fewer than 100 children were abducted. In total, an estimated 20,000 children have been abducted during the 16-year conflict between the LRA and the Ugandan government. Children abducted by the LRA are frequently beaten, and forced to carry out raids, burn houses, beat and kill civilians, and abduct other children. They must carry heavy loads over long distances and work long hours as virtual slaves. Many are given weapons training and some are used to fight the Ugandan army, the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF). Girls are sexually enslaved as "wives" to LRA commanders, and subjected to rape, unwanted pregnancies, and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The LRA uses brutal tactics to demand obedience from abducted children. Children are forced to beat or trample to death other children who attempt to escape, and are repeatedly told they will be killed if they try to run away.