Disarmament Program Starts in West Nile

With the disarmament of the Karamoja region ongoing, the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) are turning their focus on other areas in Uganda in which the trade in illegal arms is rife.
Lt. Paul Wamboga, the West Nile UPDF spokesperson, says the army has launched an operation to recover illegal guns in West Nile. He says there are a large number of illegal arms in the region, which are mainly trafficked from Southern Sudan and Congo.
Lt. Wamboga blames the proliferation of small arms in the West Nile region on the improper disarmament of rebel groups in Congo and the stagnated disarmament of former combatants in Southern Sudan.
Reports from Southern Sudan suggest that illegal guns are one of the major security threats to the resettlement of former refugees.
Lt. Wamboga says the guns are usually trafficked across Uganda's porous border with the two countries.
The Uganda Revenue Authority estimates that there are 316 illegal entry points in West Nile alone.
The army spokesperson says the security operatives have so far recovered 10 semi-machine guns with 250 rounds of live ammunition since the operation started over a month ago. He says about a dozen people have also been arrested in connection with the illegal arms trade.