Uganda army says 71 soldiers killed in crash

Seventy-one Ugandan soldiers were killed and another 41 injured many seriously, when their huge truck crashed into a concrete barrier in the east of the country, a spokesperson said today. The death toll was one of the highest the Ugandan army has suffered in a non-combat situation.

"It was a trailer and the soldiers were changing location from eastern Uganda. Apparently no one escaped unhurt," army spokesperson Major Felix Kulayigye said. The crash happened late yesterday in Uganda's mountainous east, he added. "It's really tragic. A team has been sent to investigate the exact cause of the incident," he said.

Deadly road accidents are common in Africa, where many vehicles are in poor shape, safety is often a low priority and roads frequently potholed. The state-owned New Vision newspaper said the accident took place at Kapchogo village near Mount Elgon, which straddles Uganda and Kenya. The injured were taken to Mbale and Kapchorwa Hospitals. It quoted Kapchorwa police chief Nicholas Ngonzi as saying the brakes on the truck had failed as it raced downhill.

Army deployed in Uganda’s lawless east
Concrete barriers are set along the winding road from Kapchorwa to the capital Kampala to prevent vehicles from careering off the edge if they lose control. The newspaper said Uganda's military had recently transferred more troops to the border area to counter a threat from cattle-raiding Pokot warriors from Kenya.

The army has deployed heavily in Uganda's lawless east in the past few months to combat cattle raids and inter-clan warfare between nomadic tribes. - Reuters