UGANDA

NORTHERN CONFLICTS
others forgot the exact location of the boundaries of their land. This was especially
true in the case of children whose parents and grandparents had died during the war.
Many returnees were involved in the illegal sale of land that did not belong to them.
These situations led to numerous land conflicts, episodes of violence and acts of
counter aggression throughout northern Uganda, thereby undermining peace-building
processes.
Unlike in the pre-LRA period, land conflicts are now rampant in Acholiland, as well as
along the Acholi/Madi border where many Acholi Uganda National Liberation Army
(UNLA) ex-combatants took refuge in fear of revenge after their defeat by NRA in 1986.
Many of them continue to live in the area up to today, but the legality of their occupancy
is challenged. This has contributed to a particularly severe ongoing land dispute between
the Acholi and Madi. Additionally, many Madis were displaced by the LRA to IDP camps in
both Madi and Acholiland, and now deeply disagree on land boundaries and ownership.
Land conflict in Acholiland is regarded as one of the major conflict drivers that must be
addressed in order for processes of transitional justice and reconciliation to take shape
in the region. 350
72. Post-conflict robberies in Acholiland Communities (2006 - present)
When people started returning from Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps to their
ancestral land, there was a sharp increase in levels of armed robbery. Participants
described how armed robbery was largely perpetrated by youth with access to guns
from armed rebel groups operating in West Nile and northern Uganda. Furthermore,
350 Research conducted in Gulu, Pader, Kitgum, Lira and Adjumani Districts
157