Eight civilians have been killed and 4 arrested as the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and Police attacked armed youth in Kabarole after Nyamuswa in Kabarole district after six hours of battling with attackers in the hills, TheUgandan has confirmed on Thursday.
According to an eyewitness, loud gunshots and military movements are audible and visible in what is the ‘frontline’ of UPDF and the Yiira separatists who were armed with spears and arrows face off.
Speaking to Lydia Tumushabe police spokesperson for Rwenzori region, a combined security operation has taken over Nyamuswa to containing the ferocity of the ‘Esyomango’ a popular group with the Rwenzururu king though still visible in embalmed t-shirts.
A local leader who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter said tension has been brewing in the area with bickering between the Bakonzo and the Batooro over the proposed secession.
Yiira State is said to be a wish for some officials and supporters of Rwenzururu Kingdom. However, Rwenzururu King Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere previously said the Yiira Republic is being agitated for by his subjects in eastern DR-Congo. There are many ethnic Bakonzo who live in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
However, in the aftermath of the previ0us Rwenzori attacks, government claimed they were propelled by persons who wanted to secede from Uganda and form Yiira Republic.
For the last four years, Rwenzori sub-region has been the centre of tribal conflicts, especially in Kasese and Bundibugyo following government’s recognition of cultural institutions that never existed before.
Conflicts in the region started in 2009 when government recognised Charles Wesley Mumbere as the King of the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu Kingdom. This was not welcomed by the Basongora and Banyabindi in Kasese as well as Bawisi and Bamba in Bundibugyo District. On July 11, 2012, an attack at Muhokya Police Station in Kasese left five people dead after the Basongora installed their king, the Late Ivan Bwebale Rwigi IV. The attackers fled with Bwebale’s regalia.
