UPDATE: 25 Students Killed By ADF Rebels In Kasese

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Gunmen presumed to be Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels have flooded a privately-owned school at Mpondwe in Kasese District in Western Uganda, killing at least 25 students and abducting several others, security authorities spoke out on Saturday.

Militants attacked the school when students were sleeping in their dormitories
Uganda Police have defined Friday night’s raid on Mpondwe Lhubirira Secondary School, in Mpondwe, Kasese district, as a “terrorist attack.”

“Last night, we registered a terrorist attack by the ADF rebels on Lhubirira Secondary School, in Mpondwe, which is located about 2 kilometers from the DRC border,” said police spokesperson Fred Enanga in a statement on Saturday.

The suspected ADF soldiers struck the school when the students were sleeping in their dormitories.

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Enanga said the school’s “dormitory was burned and a food store looted.”

The police spokesperson did not explain how the school was attacked in an area where the UPDF and police are heavily deployed in.

He also did not reveal facts about the security forces’ response time.

So far, 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital, according to Enanga.

“Also recovered are eight victims, who remain in critical condition at Bwera Hospital,” he added.
Chimp Reports understands the police and military have deployed counterterrorism and specialized combat forces at the school.

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“A hot pursuit by the UPDF and the police is ongoing, towards Virunga National Park,” said Enanga.

“We do offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who have been killed and offer our prayers and thoughts to those who have been wounded.”
This is the second time militants have attacked the Ugandan region from the DRC in less than a year.

In December 2022, the Ugandan army killed 11 ADF fighters after they entered Uganda from the DRC.

The Ugandan army said about 30 fellows of the rebel ADF entered Uganda through the western town of Ntoroko, along the Semliki River.

The happening will arouse the sad memories of the 1998 ADF raid on Kichwamba Technical Institute in Kabarole, during which 80 students were burned to death and more than 100 were kidnaped.

In November 2021, the Ugandan army sent armies to the eastern DRC in a joint offensive with the Congolese army against the ADF rebels.

Kampala accuses the Islamic State-linked organization of devoting horrors in the DRC and assassinating high-profile residents in Uganda.

The United States warned earlier this week of terror threats in Uganda but did not produce specifics.