Nairobi (EFE).- At least 25 people have died in an attack against a school in western Uganda carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group with diffuse ties to the Islamic State (IS).
As reported today by the Ugandan Police, the “terrorist attack” took place last night at the Lhubirira school, in the town of Mpondwe, about two kilometers from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“A dormitory was burned and a grocery store was looted. So far, 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to the hospital in (the city of) Bwera,” the forces said in a statement, without specifying how many victims are students.
Eight injured were also rescued, who remain in critical condition at Bwera hospital.
Likewise, the Police affirmed that, together with the Ugandan Army, an “intense pursuit” of the attackers began towards the Congolese Virunga National Park.
Ugandan rebels based in neighboring DRC
“We offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who have been killed, and we offer our prayers and thoughts to those who have been injured. Further details will be provided in due course,” the statement added.
The Allied Democratic Forces are a rebel group of Ugandan origin, but are currently based in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and neighboring Ituri, near the border the DRC shares with Uganda.
Its objectives are diffuse beyond a possible link with the Islamic State (IS), which sometimes claims responsibility for its attacks.
Although United Nations Security Council experts found no evidence of direct IS support for the ADF, the United States has identified it since March 2021 as “a terrorist organization” affiliated with the jihadist group.
About 4,000 dead
According to the Kivu Security Barometer (KST), the ADF is responsible for at least 3,850 deaths in 730 attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2017.
In addition, the Ugandan authorities have accused the group of organizing attacks inside its territory, including two suicide bombings in Kampala in November 2021 and killings of senior officials by armed motorists.
To put an end to the ADF, the armies of the DRC and Uganda began a joint military operation on Congolese soil in November 2021, which is still ongoing, although the rebel attacks have not stopped.
Since 1998, eastern DRC has been mired in a conflict fueled by rebel militias and the Army, despite the presence of the UN mission in the DRC (Monusco), with some 16,000 uniformed personnel on the ground.