Amudat, (UG): Soldiers of the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces-UPDF 51 Infantry, Battalion 407 have been accused of killing 40 cows and injuring 50 others in Amudat district.
According to preliminary reports, it is alleged that the animals were grazing at the border area of Naporokoch parish in Amudat District and Korite of Kween District when a group of herdsmen met with UPDF soldiers on patrol.
Amudat District LCV Chairman Mr Nangole Joseph Lobot explains that the herdsmen had driven the cows to drink water from the Kween side where Pokot pastoralists have been banned from grazing. He adds that the group comprised mainly minors.
The UPDF confirmed the incident but said that the cows were killed in an exchange of fire between the Pokot armed warriors and the forces.
Maj Moses Amuya, the acting UPDF 3rd division spokesperson said that the warriors met and clashed with the soldiers attached to 51 Infantry Battalion 407.
Amuya noted that during the exchange, the warriors withdrew towards the herd which they used as their shield in the crossfire. One UPDF soldier was also injured.
But Lobot (the district chairman) refuted the statement that the security forces had a fire exchange with Pokot warriors asserting that if that was the case, a number of warriors would have been injured as well.
He urged the security forces to consider uniting all the conflicted communities to embrace peace and not to take sides which are resulting in the escalation of insecurity.
In September 2023, the UPDF arrested their own officer who went on a shooting spree leaving 40 cows dead in Moruita Sub-county Nakapiripirit district. The cows shot were part of the 291 cattle recovered from the Pokot community following the raid that occurred in the areas of Naborokocha.
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