Leaders inspect a house that was burnt during a past violence in Palorinya, Obongi District | Credit | Felix Warom Okello

About a hundred homes have been torched following clashes between South Sudanese refugee groups in Obongi District, authorities in Uganda have said.

The incident, which occurred in Parolinya refugee settlement, was reportedly instigated by alleged stolen maize from a nearby farm.

According to an official in-charge of refugee services in the camp, a boy was reportedly punished by a farmer after he took the silk and husk of the maize plant.

The family reportedly retaliated by beating up the farmer, resulting in the clashes between two groups.

“They took it upon themselves by beating the owner of the maize garden and injured him then retreated to where they stay,” Titus Jogo, an officer-in-charge of the refugee desk, told Eye Radio.

“This morning the other family again reorganized and attacked the village – several households totaling to 100 were burned.”

However, Jogo said police have been deployed to restore calm.

Similar incident happened in December 2019, when four people were killed and 16 others wounded in Uganda’s northwestern district of Adjumani.