Authorities in Uganda’s eastern region of Sebei have reported an increase in cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), which is illegal in the country.

Police say they have stepped up their deployments to stop any more cases.

Most of the victims are believed to be married women in their 20s and 30s who face stigma for not having undergone the procedure.

Local leaders and activists say some FGM ceremonies are now happening in public in spite of the practice being illegal in Uganda.

They have witnessed traditional processions of both men and women carrying spears and machetes moving around towns and villages before the women are circumcised.

Some ceremonies have taken place in a town centre, by highways and near forests.

Police officers are reported to have looked on, powerless to intervene, although the local police spokesperson told the BBC this was not the case.

A non-governmental agency says there have been at least 12 women who have undergone public circumcision, though there have been many more suspected cases.

FGM was banned in Uganda in 2010 with those committing the act facing up to 10 years in prison.

Campaigning by the government and activists has led to a reduction in the practice.

But now some women, who did not undergo the procedure before marriage, are facing social isolation and pressure to get circumcised.

The practice involves the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.