An attack by unknown armed men on residents of a disputed area in Adjumani, northern Uganda, has left three people dead and 21 injured.
The attack took place in Apaa land in Juka village in the Adjumani District on Wednesday morning, Uganda’s Daily Monitor reported on Friday.
In September 2015, the Ugandan government demarcated the land and handed it to Adjumani District local government.
Wednesday’s attack came after an earlier attack two months ago during which 130 huts were burned down by armed thugs.
Amuru District chairperson, Michael Lakony, confirmed the death of the three people.
The deceased were identified as Nyeko Openy Saihidi and Bosco Okwera Oringa who were killed on Wednesday morning by attackers armed with machetes, spears and bows and arrows.
Another man was discovered in the nearby bush on Thursday morning with deep head and hand wounds.
The remains of Shahidi and Oringa were currently at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital morgue waiting for post mortem examinations.
Twenty one injured, mostly farmers and businessmen, were being treated at St Mary’s Hospital in Gulu.
During the fighting, 60 grass huts were also torched and several hectares of crops destroyed.
Lakony accused the government of failing to respond to the ongoing violence in the area that had been breaking out repeatedly since the beginning of the year.
“The attack has been on-going more than once but the government hasn’t responded in anyway. We believe this could be a deliberate plan by the government using locals armed with spears to scare away those settling on the disputed piece of land,” Lakony is reported as saying.
He noted that despite the demarcation of the land, the affected people had the right to stay on the land in which they had previously been occupying.
More than 1,000 residents are in need of help since fleeing their homes in Apaa Trading Centre fearing for their lives.
– By ANA
