ADF attacks displace 8,000 Ntoroko locals
Lt Col Saul Nabimanya, the 8th Mountain Division Battalion commander, addresses residents during a security meeting at Bweramule Sub-county headquarters in Ntoroko District on December 21, 2022. PHOTO/ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- As of Wednesday, Lt Col Nabimanya said 23 rebels had been killed, 15 captured and 20 guns recovered since last week. In the Tuesday fighting, he said one SMG gun, two magazines, 26 rounds of ammunition, one Improvised Explosive Device and assorted drugs were recovered from the rebels.
The government has been urged to provide relief to about 8,000 people who have been displaced following attacks on Ntoroko District by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.
The district chairperson, Mr William Kasoro, said in Bweramule Sub-county, which was attacked by the rebels, about 7,000 people have been displaced while another 1,000 are from neighbouring Butungama Sub-county and Kibuuku Town Council.
“Up to now people are running away from their homes, we have registered 8,000 people who have been internally displaced from their homes; we don’t have designated camps because we don’t have relief food for these people, some are staying with their relatives,” he said yesterday.
“We have appealed to the government for relief food but up to now, nothing has been dispatched,” he added.
Mr Kasoro said most of the displaced persons are staying at Karugutu Health Centre IV, Kisenge Trading Centre, Rwamable Trading Centre, Kabibiri Trading Centre, Rwebisengo Town Council headquarters and Bweramule Health Centre III.
Mr Kahwa Onesmo, the internal security officer for Bweramule Sub-county, said 935 children below five years are among the displaced.
He said the villages with the most displaced persons are Kayaja 1, Kiringa, Kyobe, Kyapa, Bweramule, Kaitampara, Kyagabukama, Karugaju and Rukora A, B and C.
“Up to now people are not in their homes, they are still living in fear; people are requesting for more deployment of security to ensure their safety,” Mr Onesmo said.
On Tuesday, fresh fighting erupted after UPDF soldiers intercepted seven ADF rebels in Kyapa Village. Two of the rebels were killed while the others are still hiding near River Semliki.
The latest fighting saw some residents, who had returned to their homes, go back to temporary camps. Residents have asked UPDF to consider deploying more soldiers in the area to enable them return to their homes.
During a security meeting at Bweramule Sub-county headquarters on Wednesday, residents said enough soldiers should be deployed on all porous borders along River Semliki where rebels are crossing from DR Congo to attack their area.
The chairperson of Kyapa Village, Mr Elikana Byabazire, said: “People cannot return to their homes when they are not sure of their security, they are telling people to return to their homes when rebels are still hiding in some of the abandoned homes, and swamps. We need an army, which can protect us during the day and night. The deployment is not enough.”
The Ntoroko Resident District Commissioner, Maj (Rtd) Edward Jones Mugabirwe, acknowledged the security gaps and said the issue of deploying more soldiers would be looked into to see that people return to their homes.
But Lt Col Saul Nabimanya, the 8th Mountain Division Battalion commander, said they have enough manpower to flush out ADF rebels from the district. “What we want is to see people returning to their homes because if they are not there, nobody shall give us information about rebels where they are hiding,” he said.
