Army officers held
May 24, 2004
TWO UPDF commanders have been arrested following last week’s killing of 42 displaced persons by rebels near the northern town of Gulu, army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said yesterday.
By Steven Candia and Agencies
TWO UPDF commanders have been arrested following last week’s killing of 42 displaced persons by rebels near the northern town of Gulu, army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said yesterday.
The Thursday attack by suspected LRA rebels on Lukodi camp, 17km north of Gulu, was the second on an IDP camp within a week.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 7,000 civilians were displaced and 200 huts burnt.
Bantariza said a Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant, who were in charge of troops in the area, would be charged with “negligence of duty resulting in the death of civiliansâ€.
Bantariza said one of the commanders failed to pass on information that the army unit could have used to defend local civilians, while the second officer was arrested for, among other things, not having observation posts for intelligence purposes.
However, fourth division spokesman Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda yesterday identified the officers as Lieutenant Alex Bamiya, who commanded three platoons and a Second Lieutenant only identified as Hakim.
“One of the commanders was the first to clash with that group of rebels and killed three of them. He chased them until they left his area of operation,†Bantariza told IRIN.
“It is a standing order in northern Uganda that one is not supposed to operate outside his area, but when you chase the enemy to another person’s territory, you are obliged to inform the other so that he can prepare.
“The lieutenant in 41 battalion did not inform his colleague,†he said.
“His colleague was also arrested because that location was not fit for a settlement. When people saw there was a military unit there, they decided to settle nearby but he did not ask them to leave, which he should have done,†Bantariza added.
Jam Kolaas, the acting representative of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Uganda, told IRIN by telephone from Gulu on Saturday that most of the IDPs who fled Thursday’s attack were unaccompanied children.
Many of the victims were either bludgeoned to death or were burnt inside their huts, local leaders in Gulu reported.
Bantariza said the LRA launched a three-pronged attack with one group raiding the camp, a second one attacking soldiers guarding it and a third group engaging army patrol units.
Ends
TWO UPDF commanders have been arrested following last week’s killing of 42 displaced persons by rebels near the northern town of Gulu, army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said yesterday.
The Thursday attack by suspected LRA rebels on Lukodi camp, 17km north of Gulu, was the second on an IDP camp within a week.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 7,000 civilians were displaced and 200 huts burnt.
Bantariza said a Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant, who were in charge of troops in the area, would be charged with “negligence of duty resulting in the death of civiliansâ€.
Bantariza said one of the commanders failed to pass on information that the army unit could have used to defend local civilians, while the second officer was arrested for, among other things, not having observation posts for intelligence purposes.
However, fourth division spokesman Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda yesterday identified the officers as Lieutenant Alex Bamiya, who commanded three platoons and a Second Lieutenant only identified as Hakim.
“One of the commanders was the first to clash with that group of rebels and killed three of them. He chased them until they left his area of operation,†Bantariza told IRIN.
“It is a standing order in northern Uganda that one is not supposed to operate outside his area, but when you chase the enemy to another person’s territory, you are obliged to inform the other so that he can prepare.
“The lieutenant in 41 battalion did not inform his colleague,†he said.
“His colleague was also arrested because that location was not fit for a settlement. When people saw there was a military unit there, they decided to settle nearby but he did not ask them to leave, which he should have done,†Bantariza added.
Jam Kolaas, the acting representative of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Uganda, told IRIN by telephone from Gulu on Saturday that most of the IDPs who fled Thursday’s attack were unaccompanied children.
Many of the victims were either bludgeoned to death or were burnt inside their huts, local leaders in Gulu reported.
Bantariza said the LRA launched a three-pronged attack with one group raiding the camp, a second one attacking soldiers guarding it and a third group engaging army patrol units.
Ends