Mass burial for victims of Uganda unrest

AFP, KAMPALA: The bodies of 51 unidentified victims of fierce fighting in a local kingdom in Uganda’s restive Kasese region were buried in a mass ceremony on Sunday, officials said.
They were among nearly 90 people killed in fighting last month between palace guards of a tribal monarch and security forces in the western region, said Kasese district official Geoffrey Sibendire Bigogo.
“No relatives had turned up to claim them .. It is a painful exercise but we had no way out,” he told AFP. “The bodies were rotting away and the stench is unbearable considering such (a) high number.”
The government accused Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere of stoking a secessionist rebellion and stormed his palace on November 27, a day after his palace guards attacked local officers, according to police.
The local monarch was taken to the capital Kampala where he was charged with murder. The death toll from the clashes stands at 87, although local reports suggest the real number could be more than 100.
Ugandan government and local authorities agreed to Sunday’s mass burial, but ordered DNA samples to be taken from every corpse to attempt to identify them later

Mass burial for victims of Uganda unrest

AFP, KAMPALA: The bodies of 51 unidentified victims of fierce fighting in a local kingdom in Ugandas restive Kasese region were buried in a mass ceremony on Sunday, officials said. They were among nearly 90 people killed in fighting last month between palace guards of a tribal monarch and security forces in the western region, said Kasese district official Geoffrey Sibendire Bigogo. No relatives had turned up to claim them .. It is a painful exercise but we had no way out, he told AFP. The bodies were rotting away and the stench is unbearable considering such (a) high number. The government accused Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere of stoking a secessionist rebellion and stormed his palace on November 27, a day after his palace guards attacked local officers, according to police. The local monarch was taken to the capital Kampala where he was charged with murder. The death toll from the clashes stands at 87, although local reports suggest the real number could be more than 100. Ugandan government and local authorities agreed to Sundays mass burial, but ordered DNA samples to be taken from every corpse to attempt to identify them later