An army source told Reuters about 100 people had been killed by government soldiers. Museveni said the initial raid came in revenge for a similar attack last month. The army earlier said at least 40 people died in the August raid, but one aid group said around 160 were now known to have died. Museveni said the army had moved in with helicopters and armoured vehicles to end the fighting. He also said the army had launched a separate operation against a different Karimojong community on September 9 after warriors ambushed a military convoy in July, stealing weapons and ammunition.
Cattle rustling is common in the remote area where the fighting took place.
It is made more violent by the availability of assault rifles, which came into circulation after the overthrow of dictator Idi Amin in 1979 and are also available as a result of a long-running civil war in neighbouring Sudan.