Karamojong attack IDP camp in the east

The Ugandan authorities have said they are seeing a marked improvement in security in Katakwi District, eastern Uganda, since the government launched a disarmament programme in the neighbouring Karamoja region in December 2002. However, The New Vision Ugandan government-owned newspaper reported on Wednesday that suspected Karamojong warriors had attacked a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Okoboi, Katakwi District, killing two people and leaving four critically wounded. In the incident, on Monday afternoon, about 80 warriors attacked the camp, which was being guarded by 13 members of the Local Defence Unit, and stole 140 head of cattle, according to the paper. People in the camp had expressed fears of the possibility of another attack, it added. Asked by IRIN on Thursday to comment on the report, Martin Owuor, assistant commissioner for disaster management within the Office of the Prime Minister, noted that the attack having been the first of its kind for more than a year was indicative of marked progress in the government's efforts to disarm the Karamojong community. "To me, this is a good progress. It is the first attack in a year. It means that the disarmament process is effective," he said. The Karamojong, a pastoralist community living in the north eastern districts of Kotido and Moroto, which constitute Karamoja region, have repeatedly been accused of raiding neighbouring districts, notably Katakwi, causing displacement and untold human suffering. As a result, by early this year, about 80,000 people were living in IDP camps in Katakwi District alone, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs humanitarian update for January 2002. The Uganda People's Defence Forces launched a forcible disarmament operation in Karamoja after the expiry on 15 February of a month's grace period, which followed an earlier government deadline for the Karamojong to surrender illegally held weapons. During a visit to the area in December 2001, President Yoweri Museveni had offered an amnesty for those who surrendered their weapons. In exchange for the weapons, the government promised investment and development projects for the area, and to deploy security personnel in security zones (along the borders with neighbouring districts and countries) to guarantee protection of the Karamojong against invasion by other tribes.