In a horrifying attack linked to the Islamic State-affiliated rebels, nearly 40 students lost their lives at the Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe, western Uganda. Five assailants stormed the school dormitories late on Friday, employing machetes and setting fires, causing death and injury.
The assault is attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which primarily operates out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Authorities have launched an intense search operation to apprehend the perpetrators.
The school, with over 60 attendees, most of whom reside on-site, witnessed this horrific act of violence. According to Uganda's information minister, Chris Baryomunsi, 37 students were confirmed dead in the onslaught, 20 by machetes, and 17 perished in the fires.
The Ugandan military stated that the violence also claimed the life of a school guard and three local community members. After the gruesome machete attack, the assailants reportedly tossed a bomb into the dormitory. The resulting fire and its connection to the bomb is not yet clear.
Adding to the atrocities, six students were forcibly taken by the rebels to transport looted food supplies back across the border into DR Congo. Identification of several bodies, severely burned in the attack, will require DNA testing.
The appalling act was condemned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who demanded justice for the victims. Ugandan soldiers are tracking the ADF militants, leading towards the Virunga national park in the DR Congo, an expanse that often serves as a hiding spot for such rebel groups.
Despite prior intelligence about rebel activities in the border region, local authorities were criticized for their lack of preparedness for the attack. The tragic event follows a previous assault by suspected ADF fighters near the Uganda-Congo border, causing over 100 villagers to seek refuge in Uganda temporarily.
This is the first instance in 25 years of such an attack on a Ugandan school, the last being an ADF assault on the Kichwamba Technical Institute near the Congo border in 1998, killing 80 students and abducting over 100.
Experts suggest such attacks could be an attempt at forced recruitment and creating shock value. The ADF, originally formed in the 1990s in eastern Uganda, has been operating from the DR Congo for over two decades. The group, once targeting the Ugandan government accusing it of Muslim persecution, has since pledged allegiance to IS, gaining international attention.