Clashes between refugee groups in Ugandan camp leave 18 injured

July 11, 2025 (KAMPALA) – Clashes between South Sudanese and Sudanese refugees at a camp in northern Uganda on Thursday evening left 18 people injured, two of them critically, a community leader said.

The violence broke out in the Kiryandongo refugee camp, north of the capital Kampala. A refugee representative said the incident was a continuation of an earlier attack and criticized the inaction of authorities.

“The group used crude weapons, which led to a large number of injuries,” Nizar Mustafa Idris, head of the Sudanese Cultural Society in the camp, told the Sudan Tribune news outlet. He said the two critically injured were transferred to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital.

Idris said Thursday’s fighting followed an attack three days prior by a group of more than 30 people from South Sudan. The cause of the recurring violence remains unknown.

Ugandan police initially withdrew from the scene as tensions escalated, Idris noted. The majority of the group identified as attackers belong to the Nuer ethnic group.

The deteriorating security situation prompted a human rights observer to call for a state of emergency within the camp.

In a statement, legal expert Arbab Abukeif described the incident as a “serious violation of the right to life and personal security” and a breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention. He demanded an immediate intervention and an independent investigation by Ugandan authorities and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).