Nineteen killed as army, warriors clash in northeast

At least 19 people, including seven government soldiers, were killed during two days of clashes between local warriors and soldiers over control of livestock in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, a military spokesman said on Monday. Lt Gabriel Lomongin said trouble began when Pian warriors raided cattle from the rival Bokora ethnic group early last week. After soldiers recovered the cattle on Thursday, the Pian ambushed the army and a battle ensued. "The attack was unprecedented because these people have always run to us whenever their herds are raided and we recover the animals, but this time the Pian clan from Amulek Kraal in Nakapiripirit district decided to attack our forces," the spokesman told IRIN. Politicians from the area said several civilians were killed in crossfire and others were injured. Paul Lokeris, MP, said more than 50 civilians were killed. Lomongin denied this, saying the fighting was not in the more highly populated areas of the district. A humanitarian source in the region told IRIN no relief had so far reached those injured in the clashes, most of whom were too poor to afford medical treatment for their injuries. Many of them had lost their homes and all their property in the battle. Lokeris blamed the army for the clashes: "Very many people were killed and so many were injured. About 200 huts and 400 granaries were torched by the army and property looted; about 800 people are homeless now," he said. Following the fight the army launched an operation in Nabilatuk, the area where the clashes took place, to forcibly recover illegal guns. "We have decided that whenever they fire at us, we will confiscate their animals and ask them to surrender their weapons," Lomongin said. "We want to pinch them where it hurts, and that is when you touch a goat, a sheep and a cow of the Karamojong." Asked about the upsurge in these incidents, he said the rainy season had resulted in overgrown grass and shrubs that the warriors were using as cover to stage attacks. The Ugandan army carried out a disarmament exercise in Karamoja in 2001, but it was effectively abandoned in 2002 when soldiers were redeployed to deal with the long-running conflict in northern Uganda against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. The Karamojong, for whom rustling is a cultural habit, formerly employed rudimentary tools such as spears, bows and arrows in their raids. Now they use guns. There have also been cross-border raids between communities living on the Uganda-Kenya border.