Ugandan army issues ultimatum to warriors in Karamoja region

The Ugandan army has issued an ultimatum to the Karamojong warriors in the northeastern part of the country, to present the perpetrators who attacked an army barracks in the area killing five soldiers.

The army's 3rd division spokesman, Lt. Gabriel Lomongin, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday that the army has given the warriors five days to hand over the perpetrators who attacked an army barracks at Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit district on Wednesday last week.

He said that during the two-day clash between the army and the warriors, five soldiers lost their lives and nine others were injured. Three warriors died and a number of animals were killed in the incident.

Reports from the region indicated that the warriors wanted to recover the herds of cattle they had stolen, which the army had seized.

Lomongin said that the army had never experienced such an incident since the government launched a disarmament exercise in the region in 2002.

He noted that that the army has embarked on a forceful disarmament in the area.

Northeastern Uganda has been facing chronic cattle rustling, carried out by armed Karamojong warriors.

Sometimes these warriors entered northwestern Kenya to raid cattle, sparking off cross border conflicts.

The governments of Uganda and Kenya have held several meetings to devise measures of disarming cattle rustlers both in the two east African countries.

Source: Xinhua