Refugees riot over food, disarm constable

Refugees in Omugo reception centre in Arua District in northern Uganda have staged a strike to protest against what they said little food given to them.
The refugees went on rampage and disarmed a Special Police Constable deployed in the reception centre on Wednesday evening.
They also held some of the service providers hostage before authorities intervened.

Ms Josephine Angucia, the West Nile Region Police Spokesperson said it took the intervention of police from Arua town to restore calm, recover the fire arm and rescue the service providers.
"No one was injured in the chaos," she said.
According to Ms Angucia, the refugees who were waiting for relocation to Rhino Camp settlement had earlier complained about being served with little food.
"The Office of the Prime Minister and UNHCR are planning to distribute more food to the refugees later today (Thursday)," she added.
This is the second time this year; refugees in Omugo have rioted over food. Two months ago, refugees in Imvepi and Omugo blocked World Vision from accessing their stores to distribute food.
They beat up some of the staff accusing them of not giving them food for two months and ransacked the food stores. It took the deployment of police officers from Arua town to calm down the situation and apprehend the masterminds of the chaos.
Refugee agencies are struggling to keep up with the rising number of refugees.
Official statistics indicate that more than 20 south Sudan refugees report to Omogo refugee reception center each day where they are kept for three days before being relocated to Rhino and other settlement camps.