Authorities found at least 40 bodies after an attack on a secondary school in western Uganda on Friday night. That is what the mayor of the village told the AP news agency. Ugandan police late on Twitter know that eight others have been taken to hospital in critical condition. Most of the victims are said to be students. According to the police, the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces – an Islamist militia with links to IS – is behind the attack.
According to international news agencies, students have also been kidnapped, although it is not clear how many. One of the dormitories at the school has also been set on fire and a shop has been looted.
Thousands of previous victims
The army and police pursued the attackers towards the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are located. The militia initially emerged in Uganda, but fled to eastern Congo in the 1990s, where the government has little power. The ADF has long opposed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who is known as an ally of the US. Since 2019, the militia has been seen as a local branch of IS, which also claimed some previous attacks.
The militia is accused of killing thousands of civilians. In March, 19 people were killed by ADF extremists in an attack on a Congolese village. The rebel group has also attacked schools before. In 1998, 80 students were burned alive in their dormitories by an ADF attack.
In 2021, Uganda and Congo launched a joint offensive to stop the ADF, but the group continues to carry out attacks.