Uganda: May 16, 2002

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The Ugandan government said that eight soldiers had been killed and four wounded in action in the Karamoja region. The casualties occurred in operations that began May 7, most of them taken in ambushed by Karamojong warriors who are fighting government attempts to disarm them. A western press report said that Ugandan officers reported the Karamojong hid their weapons in their loose traditional tribal clothing. The Ugandan Army is now demanding that the Karamojong wear shirts and pants. The government casualty report follows a May 14 report that Ugandan Army troops had killed 13 Karamojong fighters in a firefight. A Catholic Church source reported that the government soldiers had burned a Karamojong village and forced approximately 3000 tribespeople to flee the area.