Four killed in Ugandan clashes

Four people have died in northern Ugandan clashes between local inhabitants and South Sudanese refugees, the UN refugee agency said Friday.

Fighting broke out Wednesday in Adjumani district near the border with South Sudan following the death of a local man who was suspected of having been killed by a refugee, according to the UNHCR agency.

“Four people are reportedly dead, including two refugees and two Ugandans,” it said in a statement.

Adjumani district commissioner Peter Dana told AFP that Ugandans armed with arrows and machetes had attacked a refugee village in Nyumanzi.

The UNHCR cited local authorities and its own staff on the ground in reporting that “about 2,800 Ugandans fled the affected areas and found refuge at Dzaipi reception centre,” south of Nyumanzi.

“The police and the army have deployed in the refugee camp and the surrounding areas to stop the violent clashes and calm has been restored,” Dana said.

There are more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees living in the district. Uganda is host to about one million South Sudanese refugees in all, according to the UNHCR.

Uganda is one of the world’s poorest countries and the mass arrival of refugees from South Sudan has taxed its limited resources.