A remote semi-arid plateau long marked by poverty and state neglect, Karamoja had enjoyed more than a decade of relative calm. However that peace began to unravel in late 2019, when worsening food insecurity and the pandemic triggered a revival of long-standing ethnic tensions between herding communities. Armed cattle raiders’ assaults on neighbouring groups’ herds triggered deadly gun battles where hundreds lost their lives.
Calm returned in 2023 through a government-led voluntary disarmament campaign and community peacebuilding initiatives.
