{UAH} IDDI AMIN NEVER TARGETED LANGIs/ACHOLIs, THEY TARGETED HIM {---Series One-Hundred and ninety}

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A protest against growing unrest in northern Uganda turned violent on Wednesday as mobs lynched rival tribesmen and police fired into the crowd. At least eight people were killed, hospital officials and witnesses said. The violence came shortly after the Ugandan army announced it had killed 21 rebels who had taken part in a weekend massacre of scores of civilians at a refugee camp a few kilometres north of this war-weary town. Thousands took to the streets of Lira to protest the government's failure to protect civilians. Mobs broke away from the protest and began burning and looting about 50 homes belonging to the Acholi - the northern tribe from which the rebels draw the bulk of their fighters.

And this is where we need to look closely at Acholi violence, the rebels that attacked Barlonyo were Acholi that murdered Acholi. Because they felt that the government was not doing enough to protect them, which was a fair observation, Acholi attacked Acholi houses and burnt them to the ground. Karel Prinsloo wrote  a piece Eight Lynched as Ugandan crowd turns violent and it was published by Associated Press.

Ugandans we need to discuss Acholi violence candidly.

 

Eight lynched as Ugandan crowd turns violent

February 25 2004 at 03:54pm

By Karel Prinsloo

Lira - A protest against growing unrest in northern Uganda turned violent on Wednesday as mobs lynched rival tribesmen and police fired into the crowd. At least eight people were killed, hospital officials and witnesses said.

The violence came shortly after the Ugandan army announced it had killed 21 rebels who had taken part in a weekend massacre of scores of civilians at a refugee camp a few kilometres north of this war-weary town.

Thousands took to the streets of Lira to protest the government's failure to protect civilians. Mobs broke away from the protest and began burning and looting about 50 homes belonging to the Acholi - the northern tribe from which the rebels draw the bulk of their fighters.

An Associated Press photographer saw police officers fire into the crowd of protesters, killing two people and wounding another five.

It was not clear if the police were responding to fire from the crowd.

Automatic gunfire crackled in central Lira and soldiers patrolled the streets in armoured vehicles. A lawmaker from the region, Charles Angiro, said angry protesters smashed the windows of his car.

Police said the crowd beat to death at least two people during the protest and a witness, Jane Acan, said two men and a woman were stoned to death by a mob. Acan managed to escape before the mob torched her house, she said.

At the town's hospital, Dr Jane Aceng said five bodies had been brought to the morgue. One was beaten to the death and the others were killed by gunshots, she said.

The protest highlighted widespread anger among residents of northern Uganda, who say the government is not doing enough to end the 18-year insurgency by the Lord's Resistance Army, a quasi-religious rebel group which was blamed for Saturday's bloodshed at the Barlonyo refugee camp.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who visited the area on Tuesday, put the death toll from the weekend raid at 84, but local officials and witnesses said more than 200 people perished.

"The government has shown a lack of concern for the people of Lira and northern Uganda as a whole," said John Bosco Ochieng, a 32-year-old university student. "It's always been giving empty promises. If there is mass murder they say it is the kick of the dying horse. For how long will they keep giving empty promises?"

Some of the protesters held up banners that said, "The United Nations must intervene." Others demanded that the government do more to protect civilians.

Businesses in Lira were shuttered and local authorities declared an official week of mourning, said Franco Ojur, a town official.

The army launched attacks on two groups of the Lord's Resistance Army on Tuesday in two villages near the Barlonyo Camp.

An army spokesman said 16 rebels were killed in one attack and five were killed in the other.

"They (the rebels) were pinned down by helicopters and ground forces. These rebels were part of the group that attacked Barlonyo camp," Lieutenant Chris Magezi said on Wednesday.

The Barlonyo attack cast serious doubt on the government's assertion that it is fast crushing the Lord's Resistance Army, which says it wants Uganda to be governed by the Ten Commandments. It's led by Joseph Kony, who claims to have spiritual powers.

The rebellion has claimed thousands of lives, displaced a million people, and spread fear throughout the region.

Museveni blamed the army for failing to prevent the Barlonyo attack and apologised to the region's people.

"It's very sad, on behalf of the government, or the army, I apologise to the people because the mistake is on the side of the army," Museveni said after visiting a hospital packed with survivors. "They (the army) did not co-ordinate well but we have got a long struggle, we shall overcome."

Uganda's current government is dominated by southerners like Museveni, a fact that causes resentment in the north. Even though the Lord's Resistance Army has its roots in a 1980s rebellion by the northern Acholi people, the group's current goals remain murky. - Sapa-AP

 

 

Stay in the forum for Series One hundred and ninety-one on the way   ------>

 

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"