Up to 400 dead in ethnic fighting, government investigating

Up to 400 people are believed to have died following three days of "intense" ethnic fighting in eastern Uganda, news organisations and humanitarian workers reported. The clashes began last week after the mainly pastoralist Bokora ethnic group attacked their Matheniko tribesmen at Moru Ariwon village between Moroto and Kotido. "It was a fierce battle by all accounts," a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) official told IRIN on Tuesday. "Our staff on the ground say about 200 people could have died in this attack. A lot of cattle were taken," he said. "Although tensions have been fairly high over the last few months, the attack took us by surprise considering that elders from the various Karamojong ethnic groups have been holding reconciliatory meetings," he added. In a bid to quell the fighting, an army helicopter shelled the Kalosarich area on Friday killing an unknown number of warriors mostly from the raiding Bokora group, the LWF official confirmed. "The helicopter gunship had moved in to chase the raiders," he said. "Certainly there were casualties but no specific details are available yet, people are just guessing. The 400 figure for total casualties in both incidents could be on the high side." LWF staff on Saturday ferried many of the injured to Moroto hospital. A Ugandan army official told IRIN on Tuesday the casualty figure appeared to be "exaggerated". "The government is however doing what it can to verify the incident," he said. The head of the European Commission (EC) in Kampala, Bernard Ryelandt, who visited the affected area on Monday, said elders from various ethnic groups, local authorities, area members of parliament, the government, NGOs and all those concerned had already started a peace initiative to resolve the problem. "There is hope that these efforts will lead to restoration of peace in the area," he told IRIN. "The European Union is supporting morally and financially the peace building process," he added. Unconfirmed reports say the incident could have been a revenge attack following a raid in late July by the Matheniko group on the Bokora in Turutuko village, in which some 140 people reportedly died. Other reports blame looming food scarcity and drought in the region that is forcing residents to move in search of food, water and pasture. The Karamojong, a collective name for the cattle-rearing tribes in eastern and northeastern parts of Uganda, have over the decades engaged in cattle-rustling activities. Over time, they have abandoned the use of traditional weapons such as spears, bows and arrows for more sophisticated weapons like guns. There have also been cross-border attacks between the Karamojong and the Turkana in Kenya.