Lamwo residents flee homes in fear of armed South Sudan bandits

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents of Lomwaka village in Potika sub county in Lamwo district fled their homes on Wednesday after spotting suspected bandits marauding in bushes in the area.

The four-armed bandits reportedly entered the border village on Tuesday evening from Logot-Ishore Bomah in Itokos county, Eastern Equatorial State of South Sudan triggering panic among residents of an imminent attack.

Thomas Obol, a resident says the atmosphere is filled with tension, fear and panic amongst the civilian population. He says some have left their home villages and moved to the neighbouring villages of Lweny-Pe, Moroto, Loyo Ayela and Larach Odong for safety.

Obol says they want the government to intervene and protect their lives against any security threats from the bandits.

Lamwo Resident District Commissioner, James Nabinson Kidega has confirmed the incursion by the armed bandits and called for calm from residents.

He says intelligence reports indicate that the armed men were accompanying an estranged South Sudanese man whose Ugandan wife abandoned and returned to her parent’s home in Lomwaka B village.

He however says that after failing to trace the woman, the group started marauding in the bushes within the area.

Kidega says that as security, they don’t condone any form of violence against the civilian population and warns South Sudan nationals against illegal entry into Uganda with firearms.

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