By Adia Jildo
Two police personnel were reported dead during a police patrol when they fell into an ambush of armed cattle herders who had caused insecurity in Nimule earlier on Thursday.
The police’s spokesperson in Nimule David Kasmiro said that one of the police personnel was shot dead by the armed cattle herder whereas the other died instantly after the incident.
David said that two cattle herders had opened fire in the morning in Motoyo residential area which was responded to by the police patrol to check the situation.
He said that the police were continuing to pursue the culprits of the incident from one area to another when the police fell into an ambush in Rei later, a plan that was hatched by the two culprits.
The police followed them up at Anyamma where the two men proceeded to extend their plan.
“At Anyamma, the same tragedy happened but the security was defeated by the criminals. In the midst of the response, they shot one soldier dead who was deployed to rescue the situation,” he explained.
He said that the other policeman at the scene was rushed to the hospital where he died although forensic results showed no gun shot. An assumption was that he could have died of shock.
“So far, we have lost two policemen to the operation but we were advantaged to the arrest one of the perpetrators who is a herder and now is in custody of the police,” he said.
Kasmiro said that there had been security tensions on Wednesday afternoon caused by cattle herders accompanied with looting of property and items in markets and residential areas in Nimule.
“It involved looting of motorbikes and items in the market, causing panic by shooting up of guns” he said.
David said that the Police patrol team were deployed on Wednesday which calmed the situation until yesterday morning when things got worse in the area of Motoyo.
“In Motoyo, the same people also looted a motorbike of a certain man. We later on apprehended the criminal and took him into custody,” he said.
He said that all areas have been affected by the same act stating that counter-acts were happening in another area whenever they went to rescue the situation in one area.
David described how the havoc caused by the criminals on Thursday morning started in the market place and frightened the locals.
“Two men at around 12 noon on a ride decided to shoot-up bullets in Malakia leading to the fleeing of the people from the market,” David narrated.
The patrol team continued to pursue the two armed men in all the locations they made moves to.
He said that despite the response by the patrol team, they were unable to catch the criminals.
“This situation can be termed as a rebellion because it transpired in the wilderness due to cattle possession. The situation of using ambush is an unethical act,” David echoed.
He urged cattle herders to refrain from acts of causing insecurity and to respect the law.