An Islamic extremist group is believed to have killed at least 41 people, including 38 school students
At least 41 people were killed by rebel extremists in a brutal attack on a school in Uganda near the border with Congo, officials said.
The mayor of Mpondwe, Uganda, said Saturday morning that authorities had recovered the bodies of 41 people, including 38 students, who were burned, shot or hacked to death in an attack on Lhubiriha Secondary School. The Ugandan military said at least six other people were abducted and believed to have been taken across the border into Congo, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities said the perpetrators were the Allied Democratic Forces, an Islamist extremist group with ties to ISIS, which has been launching terrorist attacks throughout the region from bases in the volatile Congo.
The victims included the students, one guard and two members of the local community who were killed outside the school, Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze told The Associated Press.
Mapoze said that some of the students suffered fatal burns when the rebels set fire to a dormitory and others were shot or hacked with machetes.
About five attackers carried out the raid, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Friday night, according to the Ugandan military. Soldiers from a nearby brigade were dispatched to the scene.
“On arrival, the school was found burning with dead bodies of students lying in the compound with the school food store broken into, posho and beans taken,” military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said in a statement.
The statement indicated 37 bodies were recovered and taken to a local mortuary, while eight survivors were transported to a nearby hospital. Three people were rescued alive and six were abducted, the military said.
“On arrival, the school was found burning with dead bodies of students lying in the compound with the school food store broken into, posho and beans taken,” military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said in a statement.
The statement indicated 37 bodies were recovered and taken to a local mortuary, while eight survivors were transported to a nearby hospital. Three people were rescued alive and six were abducted, the military said.
ADF opposes the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a U.S. ally who has maintained power in the East African country since 1986.
The Islamic group was blamed for slaughtering 19 people in Kirindera town, Carly Nzanzu in March, just days after 36 people were massacred in Mukondi village in North Kivu province, according to Congo officials.