A rebel attack on a secondary school in southwestern Uganda has left more than 40 people killed, with the majority being students, security sources said on Saturday.
Suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels attacked Lhubirira Secondary School on Friday night in Mpondwe, about 2 km from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing at least 37 students, a security guard and three people of the local community, according to police and military sources.
The rebels, according to the military, burnt a school dormitory and also looted a food store. Among the victims, at least 17 students were burnt to death.
The militants abducted six students and forced them to carry the food, Felix Kulayigye, Uganda’s military spokesperson, told Xinhua by phone. “We shall get them wherever they will be” and rescued the students, he added.
At least eight students who were sent to the hospital remain in critical condition, according to the police. Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has sent a team of top military officers to investigate the incident.
Dick Olum, Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces commander for the mountain division based in western Uganda, said in a televised address that the rebels were aided to cross into Uganda from neighbouring DRC.
“Kindly help us to identify the boys who helped the ADF come here. We have got information that ADF (militants) came and spent two nights here before they attacked the school,” Olum said.
The military said in a statement that it was using both aerial and ground forces to pursue the attackers who could be retreating to Virunga National Park in the DRC. “The planes have already arrived and deployed. They are going to search everywhere for these rebels,” Olum said.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement after the attack, condemning the heinous attack and abduction of students and demanding their immediate release and safe return. —Xinhua
