At least 40 people are alleged to have been killed in an attack on a school in western Uganda, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by an armed group affiliated with ISIL (ISIS).
ADF has strong influence in eastern DRC
Lhubirira secondary school in Mpondwe late on Friday was attacked by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan organisation with a strong influence in eastern DRC that has sworn allegiance to the ISIL group, set fire to a dormitory and looted food, police reported on Saturday.
“So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital. Also recovered are eight victims, who remain in critical condition at Bwera Hospital,” Ugandan police said on Twitter.
Uganda’s Defence Spokesperson, Felix Kulayigye stated on Saturday that the country’s forces were hunting down the attackers in order to free the people they had kidnapped.
. @FredEnanga1 “Last night, we registered a terrorist attack by the ADF rebels, on Lhubirira secondary school, in Mpondwe, that is located about 2 kms, from the DRC border. A dormitory was burnt and a food store looted. So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and… pic.twitter.com/3WVfY2q9lz
— Uganda Police Force (@PoliceUg) June 17, 2023
Officials did not reveal number of victims
The police claimed to be tracking the attackers, who fled towards DRC’s Virunga National Park. However the officials have not revealed the number of victims of attack.
An significant political figure and former politician from the area named Winnie Kiiza denounced the “cowardly attack” on Twitter.
Taking to twitter she wrote, “attacks on schools are unacceptable and are a grave violation of children’s rights,” and she said that schools should always be “a safe place for every student.”
At least 20 people were killed when the ADF invaded a community in eastern DRC in April. In a over night attack on a village of Mukondi in March, the organisation is thought to be responsible for 36 deaths.
