At least 41 killed after IS-linked militants attack school in Uganda

The attack was carried out by the IS-linked Allied Democratic Forces on Friday night
Uganda security forces are seen standing at the premises of the attack
AFP via Getty Images
Sami Quadri17 June 2023

At least 41 people have been killed after militants linked to Islamic State attacked a school in Uganda.

Members of the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe at around 11.30pm local time on Friday.

The assailants burned a dormitory, looted food and abducted people during the attack.

Mpondwe-Lhubiriha mayor Selevest Mapoze said those killed include 38 pupils, one guard and two members of the local community who were shot outside the school.

Mr Mapoze said some of the pupils were burned to death while others were shot or hacked with machetes.

A boy is conforted at the scene of an attack in Mpondwe
AFP via Getty Images

At least eight people remain in critical condition at a local hospital.

The attackers fled towards Virunga National Park in Congo, police said.

The ADF rebels launched their insurgency against President Yoweri Museveni in the 1990s from an initial base in the Rwenzori Mountains.

The group was largely defeated by the Ugandan military but remnants fled across the border into the vast jungles of eastern Congo from where they have since maintained their insurgency - perpetrating attacks on civilian and military targets in both Congo and Uganda.

In April, the ADF attacked a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 20 people.

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