Authorities in Pogee, Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, South Sudan, have expressed concern about Ugandans’ growing encroachment on their territory and harassment.
According to them, the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) has kept up its efforts to uproot host villages near the border and allow its residents to relocate there.
According to the South Sudanese authorities, UPDF soldiers had set up over eight camps and sent out patrol forces in the bordering territory.
They said that earlier this month, Ugandan military damaged or burned to the ground a number of houses in Padwanya hamlet.
“The Ugandan invaders were increasing by the day,” Jemila Augustine Aya, a Pogee administrator, told the reporters.
According to Aya, the UPDF has also set up a temporary community on an eight-hectare sugarcane plantation in South Sudan.
She claimed, “They are just threatening and moving around, telling the civilians not to build permanent houses in their area.”
The problem, she continued, is the Ugandan soldiers who come and beat up our people. She added that one individual had his building materials stolen by the UPDF. The populations of Sudan and Uganda have coexisted peacefully.
Francis Lopoka Ojok, the chairperson of the Parjok community, stated that the UPDF is still intimidating and threatening to evict host villages near the border.
He continued by saying that the Ugandans had established a number of towns on South Sudanese territory.
According to Magwi County Commissioner Pole Pole Benjamin Olum, South Sudan had been overrun by Ugandans, who were given security and protection by UPDF personnel.
They are not alone; they have been there for a very long time. He claimed that when the civilians arrived, they claimed they had to defend their fellow citizens without even consulting the county officials.
According to Olum, they have regularly reported to both State and National authorities, and it is now their responsibility to take the necessary measures.
Contact with Ugandan officials for a comment was not possible right away.