Three Ugandan soldiers were killed by an angry mob near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the reports on Sunday by police and other local officials, they were accused of being criminals by the local population.
“Three of our soldiers have been killed by a crowd and investigations are under way to establish the circumstances in which the soldiers were killed” official Peter Debele told AFP.
“Three weapons were found at the scene of the attack and eight people were arrested in connection with the killing of the soldiers,” he added.
Debele said the armed soldiers were attached to an army unit guarding the Ugandan border point of Vurra.
Earlier this year, the government banned civilians from wearing any type of camouflage because of the number of criminals who wore military-style clothing.
The soldiers, eight kilometers from their post, were stopped by residents for “interrogation, they handed over the weapons but the crowd turned around and lynched them alleging they had come to steal them,” Debele said.
Ugandan police spokeswoman for the region, Josephine Angucia, told AFP that among the dead soldiers, there was a unit commander attached to the border post, Corporal Julius Kobum.
“We urge the public not to take the law into their hands when faced with a challenge. They should have reported to the police,” she added.
The border region of Uganda is experiencing high levels of crime because of the porous borders used by armed groups to steal and attack local populations.
