Three UPDF soldiers killed by mob in Arua

Three UPDF soldiers attached to Vurra customs army detach have been killed by a mob on allegations of armed robbery.

The incident occurred on Saturday night between 9.30pm and 10.30pm at Pelele village, along the Uganda-DRC border in Arua district.

Police in Arua identified the dead soldiers as Corporal Julius Kobum; the Vurra customs detach commander, Lance Corporal Ibrahim Isingoma and Private Peter Ola.

The three were reportedly intercepted by a mob after a cyclist sounded an alarm indicating that they had plotted to rob him.

Josephine Angucia, the police spokesperson for West Nile said that it is still not clear, what the soldiers were doing eight kilometres away from the detach. She says the bodies of the UPDF soldiers were taken to Arua regional referral hospital for postmortem.

According to Anguncia the three deceased officers were each carrying an SMG rifles with 30 rounds of ammunition each. All these were recovered from the scene. Eight people were arrested and detained at Arua CPS to help with investigations.

According to some sources, the soldiers underestimated the reaction of the locals who surrounded them and handed over their guns to the angry mob who later clobbered them to death.

The police say Pelele village where the road connecting Arua to Paidha via Logiri passes along the border between Uganda and DR Congo has been known for armed robbery.