By Chris Muhizi for MCN Saturday June 17th/2023.
A secondary school in western Uganda was attacked on Friday night by armed gunmen who killed at least 25 students, according to country officials.
The attack on Lubiriha Secondary School is believed to have taken place at around 11 p.m. on Friday and was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel force with ties to the Islamic State.
Police claim that the gunmen kidnapped further students.
The Lubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, which is about 2 kilometers from the border with the DR Congo, was the target of a terrorist attack last night by ADF rebels.
In addition to a food shop being looted, a dormitory was set on fire. 25 bodies have so far been exhumed from the school and transported to Bwera Hospital. Furthermore, eight individuals have been rescued and are still in critical condition
The ADF, most fatal group in eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo was originally an organization of Ugandan rebels whose primary focus was Muslim opposition to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who took office in 1986 following a five-year guerrilla struggle.
According to reports, the UPDF and DRC forces’ joint military operation known as Operation Shujaa resulted in the rebels resuming their attacks in areas that had been put under control.
Security forces in the Rwenzori subregion were reportedly on high alert earlier this week as the ADF rebel group, which is based in the DR Congo, resumed raids close to the Ugandan border.
Few kilometers from the border town of Mpondwe in Uganda, near Kasindi, Domena hamlet was attacked by ADF rebels last Sunday night, resulting in the deaths of several residents.
Security personnel in the area sent a warning to locals earlier this week about potential terrorist threats in the area.
This is not the first time that local schools have been targeted by gunmen. ADF militants assaulted Kichwamba Technical Institute on June 8, 1998, murdering 80 students, injuring many more, and kidnapping a number of others.
The effectiveness of the joint onslaught started by Ugandan and Congolese forces against the ADF in November 2021 is still unknown more than a year later.
According to Uganda police spokesperson Fred Enanga, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and police are actively pursuing the suspects toward Virunga National Park.