Three UPDF soldiers killed by rioters in Arua

Three soldiers of the UPDF attached to the army customs officers were killed by a mob on charges of armed robbery.

The incident occurred Saturday evening between 21:30 and 22:30 at the village of Pelele, along the border between Uganda and the DRC in the district of Arua.

Police in Arua identified the dead soldiers as Corporal Julius Kobum; the commander of the Vurra customs detachments, Lance Corporal Ibrahim Isingoma and Private Peter Ola. The three would have been intercepted by a mob after a cyclist sounded an alarm stating that they had plotted to steal it.

Josephine Angucia, spokeswoman for West Nile Police, said what soldiers were doing eight kilometers from the detachment was still unclear. She says that the bodies of UPDF soldiers were taken to the Arua Regional Referral Hospital for an autopsy.

According to Anguncia, the three deceased officers each carried a SMG rifle with 30 rounds each. All this has been recovered from the scene. Eight people were arrested and detained in Arua CPS to badist in the investigations.

According to some sources, the soldiers underestimated the reaction of the residents who surrounded them and handed over their weapons to the angry mob who later beat them to death.

Police said the village of Pelele, where the road linking Arua to Paidha via Logiri pbades along the border between Uganda and DR Congo, was known for armed robbery.