27 people have been arrested from Zombo and detained at the 4th UPDF Infantry Division barracks in Gulu district in northern Uganda.
They are suspected to have participated in the attack on the UPDF detach in Zombo town last week in which at least five soldiers were killed when men armed with machetes, bow and arrows raided the army detach.
The suspects were flown aboard a military chopper to Gulu over the weekend following their arrest on Friday. Maj Caesar Olweny, the 4th Division Infantry spokesperson told URN that the suspects will undergo interrogation to ascertain the motive behind the attack. He says the suspects were picked up from Jangokoro, Nyapeya, Atyak, and Paidha in an operation mounted by the army.
"We have a total of 27 suspects at our headquarters in Gulu who were arrested from Zombo. These suspects are being interrogated in relation to the Zombo detach attacks," said Maj Olweny. He says the army is also screening the suspects to identify the ring leaders behind the attacks.
Attackers not Congolese militia
Maj. Olweny says unlike speculations that the attack was as a result of external operations by suspected militias from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo; the attackers are natives of Zombo district.
He says some of the attackers are of Congolese origin include Lendu tribesmen, adding that some managed to escape into DRC while being pursued by the army.
"The attackers are local people from within Zombo district, few are Lendu from Congo. When we tried to pursue them they crossed to the other side of Congo. The local people have been able to identify these people to us and that's how we arrested them," he said.
Maj Olweny says the situation has normalized but notes that their personnel are on the ground to provide security as they continue pursuing criminals to destabilise their networks. Reliable information from security personnel in the district shows that the raid was masterminded by Howard Openjuru, a resident of Zombo district under his Uganda Homeland Liberation Forces.
He is reported to have trained some militia in Masindi district. By press the time of filing this story, security was still on the lookout for Openjuru who is believed to have survived the fierce fight with the army that claimed about 20 of his men.
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