Current:Home > StocksAt least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border -Financium
At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:33:10
Kampala, Uganda — Ugandan authorities recovered the bodies of 41 people — including 38 students — who were burned, shot or hacked to death after suspected rebels attacked a secondary school near the border with Congo, the local mayor said Saturday.
At least six people were abducted by the rebels, who fled across the porous border into Congo after the raid on Friday night, according to the Ugandan military.
The victims included the students, one guard and two members of the local community who were killed outside the school, Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze told The Associated Press.
Mapoze said that some of the students suffered fatal burns when the rebels set fire to a dormitory and others were shot or hacked with machetes.
The raid, which happened around 11:30 p.m., involved about five attackers, the Ugandan military said. Soldiers from a nearby brigade who responded to the attack found the school on fire, "with dead bodies of students lying in the compound," military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said in a statement.
That statement cited 47 bodies, with eight other people wounded and being treated at a local hospital. Ugandan troops are "pursuing the perpetrators to rescue the abducted students" who were forced to carry looted food toward Congo's Virunga National Park, it said.
Ugandan authorities said the Allied Democratic Forces, an extremist group that has been launching attacks for years from its bases in volatile eastern Congo, carried out the raid on Lhubiriha Secondary School in the border town of Mpondwe. The school, co-ed and privately owned, is located in the Ugandan district of Kasese, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Congo border.
Joe Walusimbi, an official representing Uganda's president in Kasese, told the AP over the phone that some of the victims "were burnt beyond recognition."
Winnie Kiiza, an influential political leader and a former lawmaker from the region, condemned the "cowardly attack" on Twitter. She said "attacks on schools are unacceptable and are a grave violation of children's rights," adding that schools should always be "a safe place for every student."
I strongly condemn the cowardly attack on our students. Attacks on schools are unacceptable and are a grave violation of children’s rights. Schools should always be a safe place for every student, where students can learn, play and grow to reach their full potential.
— Winnie Kiiza (@WinnieKiiza) June 17, 2023
The ADF has been accused of launching many attacks in recent years targeting civilians in remote parts of eastern Congo. The shadowy group rarely claims responsibility for attacks.
The ADF has long opposed the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a U.S. security ally who has held power in this East African country since 1986.
The group was established in the early 1990s by some Ugandan Muslims, who said they had been sidelined by Museveni's policies. At the time, the rebels staged deadly attacks in Ugandan villages as well as in the capital, including a 1998 attack in which 80 students were massacred in a town not from the scene of the latest attack.
A Ugandan military assault later forced the ADF into eastern Congo, where many rebel groups are able to operate because the central government has limited control there.
The group has since established ties with the Islamic State group.
In March, at least 19 people were killed in Congo by suspected ADF extremists.
Ugandan authorities for years have vowed to track down ADF militants even outside Ugandan territory. In 2021, Uganda launched joint air and artillery strikes in Congo against the group.
- In:
- Uganda
veryGood! (33528)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Group of 20 countries agree to increase clean energy but reach no deal on phasing out fossil fuels
- Phoenix is on the cusp of a new heat record after a 53rd day reaching at least 110 degrees this year
- Soccer star Achraf Hakimi urges Moroccans to ‘help each other’ after earthquake
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- A man convicted of murder in Massachusetts in 1993 is getting a new trial due to DNA evidence
- In ancient cities and mountain towns, rescuers seek survivors from Morocco’s quake of the century
- Greek authorities evacuate another village as they try to prevent flooding in a major city
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- IRS ramping up crackdown on wealthy taxpayers, targeting 1,600 millionaires
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Tribal nations face less accurate, more limited 2020 census data because of privacy methods
- Poland’s political parties reveal campaign programs before the Oct 15 general election
- Inter Miami vs. Sporting KC score, highlights: Campana comes up big in Miami win minus Messi
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- As the Colorado River Declines, Some Upstream Look to Use it Before They Lose it
- Presidents Obama, Clinton and many others congratulate Coco Gauff on her US Open tennis title
- Judge denies Mark Meadows’ request to move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
German intelligence employee and acquaintance charged with treason for passing secrets to Russia
Judge denies Mark Meadows’ request to move his Georgia election subversion case to federal court
Live Updates: Morocco struggles after rare, powerful earthquake kills and injures scores of people
'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
Trump, DeSantis and other 2024 GOP prospects vie for attention at Iowa-Iowa State football game
Kim Jong Un hosts Chinese and Russian guests at a parade celebrating North Korea’s 75th anniversary
Emotions will run high for Virginia as the Cavaliers honor slain teammate ahead of 1st home game