14 killed in Karamoja
More than 14 people were on Sunday killed in a corssfire between the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers and Karamojong warriors in Moroto and Nakapiripirit districts.
The South Karamoja police spokesperson, Mr Michael Longole, confirmed that 10 of those killed were part of the warriors that had attacked Naonatau grazing area in Loputuk Sub-County in Moroto District.
“We received a message from the local residents of Loputuk Sub-County that their cows were being attacked at 2pm on Sunday by an unknown number of Karamojong warriors. We informed our sister force, the UPDF who joined us and swung into action,” he said on the phone on Tuesday.
Mr Longole said the security managed to recover 600 cattle that had been taken from the protected kraal by the warriors.
“There was crossfire between the warriors and our forces, where more than 14 warriors were put out of action and six SMG rifles were also recovered in the process,” he added.
In Nakapiripirit, four dead bodies of suspected warriors were discovered at a grazing area in Moruita Sub-County.
Mr James Odeny, the district crime intelligence officer, said: “They (warriors) wanted to raid cows from the Pokot community which are in Moruita but fortunately they were put out of action by the Local Defense Unit personnel who were on patrol.”
Mr Lungole said efforts to identify the deceased are futile, as none of their relatives have so far turned up to claim the dead bodies.
“We have informed the relatives of the deceased in Nabilatuk to report to the police to identify the bodies. The same thing is also here in Moroto where even the father of one warrior disowned the dead body after it was taken to him,” he said.
“We urge the community to come and identify the bodies of their relatives and take them for burial,” he added.
Mr Milton Odongo, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Nabilatuk, said the four warriors found dead in Nakapiripirit had clashed with fellow raiders from the Bokora community.
“They were six in numbers and they had bad luck [that day] because they met with their fellow raiders who killed four of them while the other two sustained serious injuries,” Mr Odongo said.
Mr Odongo said the security is considering taking the Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel deployed in Karamoja for further training.
“Just yesterday morning, we recovered an AK47 with 21 rounds of ammunition from a warrior. The gun belongs to one of the LDU who had hired it out and we have arrested him. Our plan is to have them taken for further training and deployed to another area since they are becoming a menace here,” he said.
