17 June 2023 , 10:28
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At least 41 people have been killed and more have been abducted in a brutal attack on a school in Uganda by rebels linked to Islamic State.
The massacre happened on Friday at the Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe, just over a mile from the Congo border.
The local mayor said 41 bodies have so far been recovered, including 38 students.
Police say the attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Harrowing details of the mass murder are now emerging. Rebels are said to have burned down a dormitory and looted the school's food store.
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Lhubiriha Secondary School where the attack happenedSome of the boys living in the dormitory were reportedly set on fire or hacked to death. Meanwhile, female students were abducted and their whereabouts are unknown.
Members of the wider community are also possibly among the dead and a large number of students remain unaccounted for.
The attackers are also thought to have detonated bombs in the region.
This is the first attack on a Ugandan school for many years.
Joe Walusimbi, an official representing Uganda’s president in Kasese, told the Associated Press that authorities were trying to verify the number of victims and those abducted.
He tragically said some bodies are so badly burnt they cannot be identified.
Uganda has experienced a shocking attack by ISIS-affiliated rebels (stock image) (Getty Images)Police said Ugandan troops tracked the attackers into Congo’s Virunga National Park.
The military confirmed in a statement that Ugandan troops inside Congo "are pursuing the enemy to rescue those abducted."
Winnie Kiiza, an influential political leader and a former lawmaker from the region, condemned the "cowardly attack."
She said on Twitter: "Attacks on schools are unacceptable and are a grave violation of children’s rights," adding that schools should always be "a safe place for every student."
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The ADF has long opposed the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a US security ally who has been in power since 1986.
The ADF was created in eastern Uganda in the 1990s and took up arms against former President Yoweri Museveni, alleging his government persecuted Muslims.