UPDF COPTER KILLS NINE MOURNERS
Jul 24, 2003
<b>KAMPALA, Thursday</b> - Ugandan army officers mistakenly launched an attack on a group of mourners at a funeral in northern Lira district, believing them to be rebel fighters, a military spokesman said on Thursday.
KAMPALA, Thursday - Ugandan army officers mistakenly launched an attack on a group of mourners at a funeral in northern Lira district, believing them to be rebel fighters, a military spokesman said on Thursday.
Survivors of the attack, which occurred on Tuesday, claimed nine people had been killed, army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said.
“The helicopter was pursuing a rebel group that had been seen in the area on Tuesday, but unfortunately at the same time some people had gathered to bury a colleague who had been killed by the rebels,†Bantariza said.
“When the mourners saw the helicopters, they ran away and hid themselves in some huts, prompting the helicopter to mistake them for rebels and open fire, killing several of them,†he said.
“The incident was regrettable,†Bantariza added.
Bantariza said an investigative team had been dispatched to the area to confirm the death toll.
Reports from Gulu town indicated that more people might have been killed in the incident, which took place near the Moroto river bordering the northeast Ugandan district of Katakwi and the northern Lira district.
The rebel group recently left its traditional area of operation and strayed into northeast Uganda region, where the army has been trying to contain its movements.
The LRA’s campaign has been marked by the brutal killing and maiming of thousands of civilians, with more than 800,000 people displaced from their homes into squalid camps dotting the entire northern region.
Meanwhile, Dennis Ojwee reports that a woman being taken to Gulu Government Hospital and her son were yesterday night shot dead by the UPDF soldiers near Atuku’s market, Pece division in Gulu municipality.
Tule Odong, 27, who was walking back home from a disco in town, was shot in the lower abdomen and admitted to the same hospital.UPDF fire from armoured vehicles and patrol soldiers rocked the town from about 1:00am till 2:50am.
Local security personnel and residents told The New Vision that there were no reports about the presence of LRA rebels near Pece by yesterday.
The woman, Kacilina Auno, 30, was shot in the back while her son, Patrick Lakony, had multiple bullet wounds.
Witnesses said their bodies were taken to the hospital in a UPDF mamba.
Michael Odong, an older brother of Auno, told The New vision on Wednesday that his sister was ill and was being taken to the hospital when she fell into the UPDF ambush.
“My sister and her oldest son were shot dead by UPDF soldiers immediately they reached Cuk Pa Atuku (Atuku’s Market) where there were even security lights along the market. They were from Pece-Pawel village and about 400 metres from Cuk Pa Cenjere when they were shot dead,†Odong said.
Col. Nathan Mugisha, the commanding officer of the UPDF fourth Division in Gulu, said, “I can’t make any detailed comment. But what I can say is that the incident is regrettable and we are still investigating it.†The army spokesman in Gulu, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said, “The two people were killed when they fell into a UPDF night ambush, and one other person was also injured by the forces in the night. “The army tried to stop them but they tried to run away and both were shot dead by our forces. However, we are still trying to investigate the circumstance under which it happened,†he said.
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Survivors of the attack, which occurred on Tuesday, claimed nine people had been killed, army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said.
“The helicopter was pursuing a rebel group that had been seen in the area on Tuesday, but unfortunately at the same time some people had gathered to bury a colleague who had been killed by the rebels,†Bantariza said.
“When the mourners saw the helicopters, they ran away and hid themselves in some huts, prompting the helicopter to mistake them for rebels and open fire, killing several of them,†he said.
“The incident was regrettable,†Bantariza added.
Bantariza said an investigative team had been dispatched to the area to confirm the death toll.
Reports from Gulu town indicated that more people might have been killed in the incident, which took place near the Moroto river bordering the northeast Ugandan district of Katakwi and the northern Lira district.
The rebel group recently left its traditional area of operation and strayed into northeast Uganda region, where the army has been trying to contain its movements.
The LRA’s campaign has been marked by the brutal killing and maiming of thousands of civilians, with more than 800,000 people displaced from their homes into squalid camps dotting the entire northern region.
Meanwhile, Dennis Ojwee reports that a woman being taken to Gulu Government Hospital and her son were yesterday night shot dead by the UPDF soldiers near Atuku’s market, Pece division in Gulu municipality.
Tule Odong, 27, who was walking back home from a disco in town, was shot in the lower abdomen and admitted to the same hospital.UPDF fire from armoured vehicles and patrol soldiers rocked the town from about 1:00am till 2:50am.
Local security personnel and residents told The New Vision that there were no reports about the presence of LRA rebels near Pece by yesterday.
The woman, Kacilina Auno, 30, was shot in the back while her son, Patrick Lakony, had multiple bullet wounds.
Witnesses said their bodies were taken to the hospital in a UPDF mamba.
Michael Odong, an older brother of Auno, told The New vision on Wednesday that his sister was ill and was being taken to the hospital when she fell into the UPDF ambush.
“My sister and her oldest son were shot dead by UPDF soldiers immediately they reached Cuk Pa Atuku (Atuku’s Market) where there were even security lights along the market. They were from Pece-Pawel village and about 400 metres from Cuk Pa Cenjere when they were shot dead,†Odong said.
Col. Nathan Mugisha, the commanding officer of the UPDF fourth Division in Gulu, said, “I can’t make any detailed comment. But what I can say is that the incident is regrettable and we are still investigating it.†The army spokesman in Gulu, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, said, “The two people were killed when they fell into a UPDF night ambush, and one other person was also injured by the forces in the night. “The army tried to stop them but they tried to run away and both were shot dead by our forces. However, we are still trying to investigate the circumstance under which it happened,†he said.
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