Uganda Deploys Army to Sudanese Refugee Camp

Sudanese refugees have expressed fears of recurring attacks on the Kiryandongo camp in the northern Ugandan city of Piale, despite a curfew and the deployment of the army.

On Thursday and Saturday, South Sudanese refugees attacked Sudanese settlements in the Kiryandongo camp, killing one Sudanese refugee and wounding others.

The governor of Piale County, along with army, police, and security officials, and the Prime Minister’s Office official responsible for refugee affairs, held an expanded meeting with the Sudanese Refugee Leadership Office and the Nuer community, attended by officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The head of the Sudanese refugee community in Uganda, Hassan Timan, said in a press statement, that the meeting decided to impose a state of emergency and a curfew within the camp from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

He explained that the Ugandan army is currently deployed to refugee settlements to ensure their protection, noting that the Leadership Office has called on all Sudanese refugees in the camp to fully adhere to the meeting’s decisions.

Timan said Nuer community leaderships pledged to cooperate in apprehending the perpetrators and preventing any recurrence of hostilities, acknowledging that the crisis erupted as a result of disputes over agricultural land inhabited by Sudanese refugees.