Grieving relatives bury their dead after school attack

A grieving town in western Uganda started the burial of victims following an assault by suspected extremist rebels. Mpondwe, near the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), mourned the loss of at least 41 individuals.

Among the victims were 38 students, as well as a school guard and three civilians. On Sunday (June 18), the town laid to rest two members of the same family while another family member remained hospitalized after being attacked with a hammer to the head. A boy was taken by the perpetrators.

Late on Friday (June 16), the assailants targeted Lhubiriha Secondary School at the border, inflicting brutal acts of violence, including burning victims beyond recognition and hacking others to death. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group is held responsible for the terrifying attack, although they rarely claim such actions. The ADF has established connections with the Islamic State group.

According to Atkins Godfrey Katusabe, a local Member of Parliament, the residents of Mpondwe are deeply traumatized and emotionally wounded. He emphasized that the ADF’s objectives do not revolve around seizing power, as the government’s authority lies in Kampala, not Kasese, where the attack took place.

Ugandan authorities suspect six students were abducted by ADF fighters. The ADF has been implicated in numerous assaults in remote areas of eastern Congo, including a March incident resulting in the deaths of 19 people.

The ADF, a historic coalition of Ugandan rebels primarily composed of Muslims opposed to President Yoweri Museveni, has been the deadliest among the various outlawed factions in the troubled region. The group was established in eastern DRC in 1995, and thousands of civilians have lost their lives because of its activities.

President Museveni condemned the attack as “criminal, desperate, terrorist, and futile” in his first public statement on the incident. Security forces have intensified border patrols along the volatile eastern DR Congo region.

In late 2021, the armies of Uganda and DR Congo jointly launched an offensive against the ADF rebels. The most devastating attack in Uganda’s history occurred in 2010 when 76 people were killed in twin bombings in Kampala perpetrated by the Somalia-based group Al-Shabaab.

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Source: Omanghana.com