At least 25 people, including children, lost their lives in a horrifying terrorist attack on a school in western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to a Ugandan police report to Reuters, the assault occurred late on Friday. Militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan group based in eastern Congo that pledged allegiance to Daesh, set up a dormitory at Lhubirira secondary school in Mpondwe and stole food ablaze.
In a Twitter message, the Ugandan police Tweeted, “So far, 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital,”. However, the exact number of deceased schoolchildren is yet to be confirmed. Eight critically injured survivors are currently receiving treatment at Bwera Hospital.
Militant Pursuit and History of ADF Attacks
The authorities reported that soldiers are chasing the attackers, who are believed to have fled towards Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. District Commissioner Joe Walusimbi also raised concerns about several students who are still missing.
The ADF, initially insurgents in Uganda, established a presence in eastern DR Congo in the 1990s and have been implicated in the killings of thousands of civilians. Since 2019, some ADF attacks in eastern DR Congo have been claimed by Daesh, referring to the militants as a local offshoot, the Africa Province wing.
This is not the first time a Ugandan school has suffered at the hands of the militia. In 1998, an ADF attack on Kichwamba Technical Institute resulted in the death of 80 students and the abduction of over 100. Earlier this year, an ADF assault on the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo village claimed 20 lives.
Despite launching a joint offensive in 2021 to oust the ADF from their Congolese strongholds, Uganda and DR Congo have not halted the group’s attacks. To counter this persistent threat, the United States announced a reward of up to $5 million in March this year for information leading to the capture of the ADF’s leader.
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