Security Imposes Curfew in Apaa After Two Killed in Fresh Clash

Security personnel have imposed a temporary curfew in parts of disputed Apaa, over fresh clashes that have left two dead, and two others injured in separate attacks.

Fresh clashes in the area resumed in February after a 50-year-old man, only identified as Mwesigwa, was murdered by unknown assailants on February 27 in Offu village in Ukusijoni Sub-county, Adjumani District.

The latest attack was recorded on Thursday from the same area after unknown armed assailants killed a local farmer identified as Mohamad Adui in a suspected revenge attack. 

Maj Gen Felix Busizoori, the Fourth Infantry Division Commander, told journalists onThursday at a press briefing that following the resurgence of violence, a four-day total curfew in two hot spot villages of Offu and Acholi Ber has been imposed.

Gen Busizoori notes that the two areas are being used as a corridor by both locals from Acholi and Madi to wage retaliatory attacks, adding that imposing a curfew will curtail their movements and mobilization powers.

The decision on curfew is among a raft of new resolutions security personnel agreed on following an emergency meeting held between Gen Busizoori, the Regional Police Commanders of West Acholi and North Madi and the Adjumani District Resident Commissioner. The meeting held on Thursday at the Fourth Infantry Division Headquarters in Gulu City comes on the heels of the fresh fights that broke out late last month.

Gen Busizoori says they have resolved, among others, to swiftly apprehend ring leaders identified for fueling the conflicts and mobilizing assailants, arrest individuals behind the rampant illegal sales of government Land, and immediately ban charcoal activities.

He warned politicians from both sides of the Amuru and Adjumani districts against meddling in the operations of the security agencies by demanding the release of suspects apprehended and arguing that they, too, would be arrested.

We are appealing to politicians who pressurize police to release these criminals whenever they are arrested. So politicians should desist from pressurizing security agencies in releasing the criminals,” said Gen Busizoori. 

Peter Taban Data, the Adjumani Resident District Commissioner, explains that illegal sales of land belonging to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and the National Forest Authority (NFA) continue to fuel conflicts since they attract newcomers.

Taban says land is being illegally grabbed and sold to non-natives in Adjumani and Amuru districts as cheaply as 300,000 for an acre of land, adding that such individuals keep moving from one area to another in search of vacant land for sale.

Taban, however, notes that he suspects the recent attack could have been triggered by suspicion following an ongoing sensitization being conducted by Habitat for Humanity, an organization helping communities acquire free titles over their lands. He says the organization was due to hold a sensitization in Ukusijoni sub-county, where the attacks happened.

Samuel Asimwe, the Regional Police Commander for Aswa West, says they will have a joint coordination with their counterparts in Adjumani district and the army in ensuring that all perpetrators fueling the violence are brought to book.

Two people injured in the latest incident are receiving medical treatment at Adjumani Hospital, according to the police.

According to local leaders in Acholi Ber Parish, more than 200 people had by March 26 been displaced by the latest attacks and were currently camping within the main trading center without shelter and were afraid to go to their homes due to fear. The displaced persons are reportedly residents of Alok Ki Raa, Tee Yaa and parts of Acholi ber.

Ferdinand Ojera, the secretary to the village traditional leader in Acholi ber however, accuses the UPDF of siding with the perpetrators instead of apprehending them. Ojera says locals are depending on the response of the army to the repeated attacks against the Acholi community.

Security has, however, refuted allegations of displacement of the locals and instead noted that those who fled are land grabbers.

Violence in the disputed boundary between Amuru and Adjumani erupted sometime in 2012 following forceful evictions of locals by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) from Apaa on claims that the land is a gazetted East Madi Wildlife Reserve. 

More than 20 people have so far been killed in tribal confrontations over the land, dozens injured and hundreds displaced over the years.