At least 37 people were killed and eight others injured when militants from an extremist group attacked a high school in western Uganda, authorities said Saturday, in one of the terror attacks. bloodiest in the East African country in years.
Armed outfit, known as the Allied Democratic Forces, attacked a school in Mpondwe, a town near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Friday night, police spokesman Fred Enanga , said. say on Twitter. During the attack, a dormitory was burned and food in a store was looted, he said. Mr. Enanga added that at least 8 people are in critical condition and have been hospitalized.
Ugandan officials say the army and police are chasing the attackers towards Virunga National Parka jungle in neighboring Congo that is home to the endangered mountain gorillas.
Three people were rescued from the scene of the attack, but six others were kidnapped, said an army spokesman, Brig. General Felix Kulayigye, said in a statement.
This is the worst attack the group has carried out in Uganda since late 2021, when suicide bombers carried out coordinated explosion in the capital Kampala, killing three people, sowing concerns about the group’s reach and posing an uncomfortable challenge to Ugandan authorities.
Since then, the Ugandan government, in conjunction with the Congolese government, has launch an attack against the Allied Democratic Forces with the aim of uprooting the group from their bases in eastern Congo.
The two governments have provided few details about the military campaign, saying only that airstrikes and artillery have weakened the group, which at one point pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. But regional observers remain skeptical of the success of the operation, codenamed Shujaa, or “Courage,” saying Allied Democratic Forces have continued to wreak havoc in eastern Congo, a region Lush, mineral-rich area, home to more than 100 rebels. groups oversaw a massive wave of carnage and destruction for many decades.
Experts also say that the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveniwho has been in power for almost four decades, is using this campaign to strengthen his image and to ensure Oilfield is being dug near the border with the Congo.
The attack, which began around 11:30 p.m. on Friday, has been widely condemned by lawmakers, Opposition parties And Western embassieswho called on the government to put in place measures to prevent such actions in the future.
“We hope that investigations can begin in earnest so that the perpetrators of this crime face justice,” Wine Bobia musician who became a leader of the opposition, say on Twitter.
On Saturday afternoon, photos and videos shared on social media and TV channels showed a dense military presence in the area as aid workers arrived at the scene of the attack. . General Kulayigye, an army spokesman, said the head of the country’s defense forces and the commander of the ground forces were expected to visit the area.
Major General Dick Olum, commander of Uganda’s military campaign in the Congo, said at a meeting with residents that rebel members spent two nights in town before attacking the school. He said some students had been burned alive or attacked to death, and government pathologists would conduct DNA tests to identify the charred bodies.
The government has deployed planes to search for the abductees, he added. He also urged townspeople to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious.
The fact that this attack happened, he said, “is a very shameful thing.”
The Allied Democratic Forces were formed in eastern Congo in 1995 by two groups opposed to Mr. Museveni, one of them a Muslim sect. The group also gains regional support from leaders in other countries, including Sudan and Congo, who seek to undermine Museveni’s rule.
In 1998, the rebels affiliated with the group attack a university in western Uganda, killing 80 students and kidnapping another 100. But starting in 2011, massive attacks by Ugandans, UN peacekeepers and Congolese people have weakened the group, forcing it to retreat deeper into the Ruwenzori mountains. bordering Uganda and Congo.
The group’s former leader, Jamil Mukulu, was also arrested in Tanzania in 2015 and later extradited to Uganda.
However, the group continues to carry out even more sinister attacks. Over the past few years, it has admitted new members, including children; attack peacekeepers; conduct a prison break; and engage in sexual violence, according to the United Nations.
It also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, which in 2019 declares its first attack in the Congo. In 2021, the United States point ADF is a terrorist organization and give a reward up to $5 million for information on the group’s new leader, Seka Musa Baluku.
But while there are some financial connections and ideological similarities between the two entities, regional observers and United Nations expert says there is no “convincing evidence” that Islamic State commands or controls the group’s activities.
