Elephants raid refugee camps

2007-09-25 12:13

Kampala - Marauding elephants raided camps for the internally displaced in northern Uganda, trampling crops and forcing people from their temporary homes, said reports.

The massive creatures, who often came into conflict with humans who encroached on their habitats, were forced away by rangers who shot in the air.

John Bosco Okulu, a local administrator, said: "Some residents fear to go to their gardens to dig."

The elephants were believed to have strayed from the Murchison Falls National Park in north-western Uganda and were searching for food. One person was admitted to hospital after the raid, said reports.

Ugandans in the north were forced out of their homes during a 20-year insurgency by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels and camps for the internally displaced dot the region.

Sapa-dpa

- SAPA