30 killed in Uganda cattle raid

Efforts to disarm the Karamojong have not gone very far

Ugandan officials say cattle rustlers have killed 30 people in a raid in the north-eastern district of Katakwi.

The Karamojong warriors attacked a camp housing displaced people in the Gariang area on Saturday, said Katakwi district commissioner Ndiwa Chemasuet.

"They shot people savagely - they shot anybody on sight".

Thirty people - including three women, a boy and a baby - were wounded and rushed to Soroti hospital, he said.

Twenty-one bodies were found at the scene and nine bodies were discovered later in nearby countryside.

Ugandan officials say a search is continuing for more bodies.

"Some people ran to the bushes and gardens with fatal wounds and died there," Mr Chemasuet said.

Ugandan radio said the raiders - believed to number about 200 - made off with cattle.

Security forces are pursuing them, a Ugandan army spokesman said.

An operation was launched three years ago to disarm the Karamojong, but only a few thousand weapons were seized out of the estimated 40,000 believed to be held by the tribesmen.

In the past the Karamojong - a nomadic tribe with a strong warrior tradition - carried spears, but in the 1970s they started using guns.

Since then, the raids have become far bloodier.

The cow is at the centre of the Karamojong value system and cattle raiding is a way of life.

Raids principally take place to pay for dowries, but they are also a chance for men to prove their strength to the community.