‘UPDF committed to protect Ugandans’ as Kasese death toll jumps to 41
UPDF armoured truck parked at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe town in Kasese District in western Uganda where students were killed and several others abducted by suspected rebels on June 17, 2023. PHOTOS/ ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- The killings come amid an unprecedented offensive by Congolese and Ugandan troops against the grouping the Islamic State group calls its affiliate.
The assailants who raided a secondary school in Kasese District in western Uganda and killed scores of students before abducting several others first shot dead the guard at the gate before setting two dormitories with learners inside on fire, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have revealed.
Security forces said the assailants are suspected to be Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, an affiliate of the Islamic State terrorists currently based in the Democratic Republic of Congo where UPDF has spent more than a year and half pursuing them in a joint operation with DRC national army.
UPDF said Saturday afternoon that 41 bodies (37 students, three community members and a school guard) were recovered following the 11:30pm raid on Friday at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Nyabugando Parish, Karambi Sub County in Kasese District.
"UPDF embarked on pursuing the perpetrators to rescue the abducted students whom they used to carry the looted food towards Virunga National Park. UPDF remains committed to its mandate to protect the people of Uganda and their property," said UPDF spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye.
"Given that this school has been having wrangles over ownership, we're leaving room open. Our forces are pursuing the assailants," he said.
According to him, UPDF have troops deployed at the Uganda-DR Congo border but “not inch by inch.”
The commander UPDF mountain division and operation Shujaa in DR Congo, Maj Gen Dick Olum who's one of the senior security officers to rush to the scene after the attack urged Ugandans to be vigilang.
""We suspect that they abducted about six students and may be picked some community members along the way. Security starts with you. I urge Ugandans to be more vigilant. UPDF and police cannot be everywhere," he said.
There were 62 students at school when the attack happened, according to local authorities. At least eight of the students were found alive but in critical condition, according to police. The number of those that were abducted is yet to be established.
The attack comes amid an unprecedented offensive by Congolese and Ugandan troops against the grouping the Islamic State group calls its affiliate.
In November 2021, Ugandan and Congolese troops launched a joint offensive against the ADF but more than a year later, the operation's effectiveness remains unclear.
Early this week, the security in the area warned residents of terror threats in the area.
This is not the first time gunmen have attacked schools in the area. On June 8, 1998, ADF rebels attacked Kichwamba Technical Institute where they killed 80 students, left others injured and several abducted.
Security agencies in the Rwenzori Sub-region were reported to on high alert early this week after the ADF rebel group renewed attacks close to the Ugandan border.
Last Sunday night, ADF rebels attacked Domena Village in Kasindi, which is a few kilometres from Uganda’s border town of Mpondwe, killing several people.
At least 133 Congolese, including women and children, were forced to flee into Uganda and camped at Kabuyiri Catholic Church.
However, most of them later returned to their country after the situation normalised, while others stayed with their relatives on the Ugandan side of the border.
The rebels are said to have resumed attacks in areas which had been pacified by UPDF and DRC forces under a joint military operation code-named Operation Shujaa.
The ADF, the deadliest militia in eastern DRC, was historically a Ugandan rebel coalition whose biggest group comprised Muslims opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who ascended to power in 1986 following a five-year guerilla warfare.
