The attack against the school in Mpondwe in the far west of Uganda took place on Friday evening, around 11.30pm local time. The death toll has risen rapidly as police and government officials search the scene. The school has 60 pupils, most of whom live at the private school. Ugandan media write that at least 41 have been found dead, 38 of them students. Eight others were found alive and hovering between life and death at the local hospital in Bwerga, according to a police official. – A dormitory was burned and a food warehouse looted, says a statement from the police. The boys who were in the dormitory when it was set on fire are said to be among the dead. Several are said to have received such extensive burns that it is difficult to identify them and DNA testing is required, writes the BBC. It has also been reported that an unknown number of students have been feared abducted. It is unclear whether any of these may be among the dead, and no one knows how many were possibly taken by the perpetrators. Islamic rebel group Police in Uganda believe guerrilla fighters from the Islamist rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are behind the attack. The ADF has declared allegiance to the Islamic terrorist group IS. A large number of police officers and soldiers are now hunting the perpetrators. – Our forces are pursuing the enemy to rescue those who have been abducted and crush this group, writes military spokesman Felix Kulayigye on Twitter. The ADF fighters are said to have fled in the direction of the Virunga National Park. Virunga, which was established as Africa’s first national park in 1925 and covers an area of 7,800 square kilometers, is located in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town of Mpondwe is only 2 kilometers from the border. Ugandan security forces began searching the school property when they arrived. The school was attacked on Friday evening. Photo: – / AFP The flight to the neighboring country ADF started as an armed rebel group in eastern Uganda in the 1990s. Founder Jamil Makulu claimed President Yoweri Museveni was persecuting the country’s Muslims. In 2001, the military cracked down hard on the rebel group, which then sought eastwards to the Congolese North Kivu province. North Kivu is considered the “epicenter” of the war and conflicts in the neighboring country and many armed groups are based there. From there, AFD has continued its attacks. In 2021, Uganda and DR Congo launched a joint offensive against the group, but this has not ended the attacks. Jamil Muakulu himself is in a Ugandan prison, after he was arrested in Tanzania in 2015.
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41 killed in attack on school, the attackers are being hunted in the national park – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
