In a tragic incident reported in western Uganda, an armed rebel group launched an attack on a school, resulting in the loss of lives of at least 41 individuals, predominantly students. Additionally, six individuals were abducted during the assault. The rebels employed brutal methods, with some victims being brutally hacked with machetes, while others perished in the dormitories that were set ablaze. The Uganda military spokesperson, Felix Kulayigye, shared these details with CNN.
According to Ugandan military sources, approximately 20 members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group associated with ISIS, carried out the assault on Lhubirira secondary school late on Friday. Situated near the Uganda-Congo border in Kasese, the school caters to students aged between 13 and 18. Among the deceased, 39 were students, while two were members of the local community, as confirmed by local authorities.
Efforts to extinguish the fire were still underway by Saturday morning, and the military expressed concerns that additional bodies might be discovered. However, they assured that there were no survivors trapped within the school premises. During the attack, there were a total of 62 individuals present at the school, as per Kulayigye.
Kulayigye expressed sympathy, saying, "We're commiserating with the families, and the leadership of the UPDF (Ugandan Peoples' Defence Forces) are on the ground and have been deployed to protect the place."
Uganda's military operations spokesperson in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Major Bilal Katamba, informed CNN that the military was pursuing the suspects in the DRC and believed they were heading towards Virunga National Park.
Major Dick Olum, the commander of the UPDF operation in eastern DRC, revealed that the rebels had spent two days in the town, where they were provided guidance and shown around by local residents, prior to the tragic killings. He issued a warning to the residents of Kasese, urging them to remain vigilant and report any unfamiliar individuals, while also appealing for assistance in identifying the youth who led the ADF to the area.
An eyewitness, Clay Biromunane, who tragically lost three cousins in the attack, described the scene at the overcrowded local mortuary, where the victims from the school were being treated. Biromunane recalled hearing gunfire erupt around 10:40 p.m. local time from his bedroom, located approximately 300 meters away from the school. The community, taken aback by the incident, had never encountered such violence before, according to Biromunane.
Mayor Mapoze Slevest of Mpondwe shared similar sentiments, expressing surprise and highlighting that the area was known for its peaceful community without any rebel presence.
The ADF, operating in the mountainous border region between Uganda and the DRC, has been engaged in conflict with the Ugandan government since its establishment in the mid-1990s. The group has faced international sanctions from the United States and the United Nations since 2014 due to their terrorist activities in the region, including attacks on children. The US Department of Treasury has condemned the ADF for their targeting of children in armed conflicts, involving acts such as killings, rape, abductions, and forced displacement. In a separate incident earlier this year, the ADF was accused of detonating a bomb during a church service in the DRC, resulting in the loss of at least 12 worshipers' lives.
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