Uganda: 1,000 Armed Turkana Enter Country
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The Monitor (Kampala)
November 1, 2006
Posted to the web November 1, 2006
Posted to the web November 1, 2006
David Mafabi
Over 1,000 heavily armed Turkana warriors from Kenya are said to have illegally entered
Uganda through Karamoja.
The warriors crossed into the country last week with over 5,000 head of cattle.
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They passed through Lupa, Moroto and Kotido districts and settled in different places where there is grass for grazing, the Uganda People's Defence Forces Third Division spokesperson, Lt. Henry Obbo, said.
He was on Thursday addressing the press about the security situation in Karamoja region in the wake of the ongoing disarmament exercise.
Obbo said reports from Nakaperimori sub-county say that that the herdsmen and warriors, who have always been involved in hostilities with the Karimojong, are from Watakowa clan in Kakuma, Kenya.
He said the influx must have been precipitated by a dry spell and lack of grazing ground in Kenya. He said whereas Ugandan authorities treated the illegal infiltration lightly, the fact that the warriors are heavily armed makes them a security threat to Ugandans, especially in Karamoja, Teso and Kapchorwa regions.
Obbo, however, said the UPDF acting on a tip off by residents, has already disarmed 9 of the Turkana warriors and that arrangements are being made to handover the weapons to Kenya authorities.
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He said the others would also be disarmed and their weapons handed over to the Kenyan government to guarantee peace in the region.
Meanwhile, Obbo said 315 guns have been recovered from the Karimojong warriors during October using the cordon-and-search disarmament method.
However, the Karimojong on Sunday retaliated and killed at least 16 UPDF soldiers including a battalion commander in Murungole Hills,
Kaabong district. The commander of the Land Forces, Maj. Gen. Katumba Wamala, has since flown to Kaabong to assess the situation.
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