Ugandan officials say the army has killed 34 tribesmen who were stealing cattle in Uganda's volatile north-eastern region. Kabong district commissioner Godfrey Kiwanda said Friday soldiers tried to stop some 200 armed Karamojong warriors trying to raid two settlements in mid-November.
He said the soldiers tried to stop them peacefully, but when warriors shot at them, they shot back. Kiwanda said two soldiers were wounded and 15 cows were killed in two clashes on November 13 and November 17. Army spokesman Captain Henry Obbo confirmed the clashes and said the army was doing its duty. Karamojongs are traditionally cattle rustlers. Rival clans regularly raid each others' livestock. In 2001 Uganda's government launched a campaign to disarm them forcefully.