The army has linked the current wave of gun related violence in northern Uganda to small arms trafficked from South Sudan and the Central Africa Republic (CAR).
According to the UPDF, some of the light weapons used in gruesome killings in northern Uganda can be traced back to South Sudan.
This comes on the heels of over seven gun- related deaths in Acholi sub region since the beginning of the year.
The latest victim was a Ugandan driver identified as Musa Bunya who was shot dead 30 last week in South Sudan, 30 kms from the Uganda- South Sudan border.
Bunya was travelling from Lira to South Sudan through Madix- Opei border crossing.
Meanwhile another victim, 50-year-old as Isabeth Anek was shot dead on Saturday last week in Lamwo district.
Col Fred Akiiki Rugadya, the 4th Division Headquarters deputy commander last week blamed the porous border between Uganda- South Sudan for flow of small arms.
Speaking in an interview with Acholi Times on Friday last week, Col Rugadya revealed that South Sudan’s failure to account for its stockpile of weapons is to blame for light weapons finding their way in Uganda.
Rugadya said some of the illegal weapons are from Central Africa Republic.
Police has also linked the current wave of gun-murders to illegal guns.
The Aswa Region Police Spokesperson, Jimmy Patrick Okema says despite the improved security between South Sudan and Uganda, dozens of light weapons have been ferried into the country through un-gazetted routes.
Some of the spots said to be used for movement of illegal weapons are Waligo, Ngom Oromo and Agora, all are remote border points without strong security presence.
Since January this year, police has recovered seven illegal weapons with two AK rifles believed to be from the South Sudanese army.
In 2014, ten people including a Gulu University don were killed in cold blood by assailants using unregistered weapons. This prompted police flying to launch an operation which led to the recovery of AK47 rifles, a pistol, three grenades and unspecified amount of live ammunition.
