KAMPALA, Aug. 12 — The Ugandan military said Tuesday it is on high alert along its border with South Sudan following deadly clashes over the past two weeks that have left four soldiers dead and displaced hundreds of civilians.
Nasser Mene, spokesperson for the army’s West Nile region, told Xinhua by telephone that surveillance has been stepped up to prevent repeated incursions and attacks on Ugandans by elements of the South Sudanese army and allied militia in Uganda’s northern district of Yumbe.
The heightened security follows late-July clashes between the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces near South Sudan’s Kajo-Keji area, which left one Ugandan and three South Sudanese soldiers dead.
According to the Ugandan military, South Sudanese troops attacked Komurofe Village in Munducaku Parish, Yumbe District, last Friday, burning several houses and other property.
The assault forced many residents to flee, with hundreds now sheltering at a local primary school.
“Our troops are doing day and night patrols to ensure those wrong elements don’t enter our villages again, and to make sure all the locals who are going to resettle back in their villages stay in peace,” Mene said.
The two East African neighbors have yet to resolve a long-standing land dispute in Uganda’s Yumbe and Moyo districts, which border South Sudan’s Kajo-Keji area.
Uganda and South Sudan have established a joint committee to address the ongoing tensions, which have repeatedly sparked military confrontations and diplomatic concerns. (Xinhua)
