2023-06-17 16:00:05
The terrorist attack took place at the Lhubirira school in the town of Mpondwe, about two kilometers from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
An attack on a school in western Uganda by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group with alleged links to the Islamic State (IS), killed 41 students this Saturday morning, 17. According to police, six students were kidnapped by the group. Among the dead, 38 of them were students. The age of the victims has not yet been released.
The terrorist attack took place at the Lhubirira school in the town of Mpondwe, about two kilometers from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), police said in a statement posted on their Twitter account.
“A dormitory was burned and a food store was looted,” police said. “Eight victims were also rescued and remain in critical condition at Bwera hospital.”
Also according to the police, Ugandan troops tracked the attackers to Congolese territory. “All those killed so far have been confirmed to be students at the school,” said Joe Walusimbi, district commissioner for the Kasese district, where the school is located. The attackers fled to Virunga National Park in Congo.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the families of those who were killed and offer our prayers and thoughts to those who were injured.”
The Allied Democratic Forces is a rebel group of Ugandan origins, but is currently based in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and neighboring Ituri, close to the border that the DRC shares with Uganda. Its objectives are diffuse, apart from a possible link to the Islamic State (IS), which is sometimes blamed for its attacks.
Winnie Kiiza, an influential political leader and former lawmaker from the region, condemned the “cowardly attack” on Twitter. She said that “attacks on schools are unacceptable and constitute a serious violation of children’s rights”, adding that schools must always be “a safe place” for all students.
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While UN Security Council experts found no evidence of direct IS support for the ADF, the United States has identified the ADF since March 2021 as a “terrorist organization” affiliated with the jihadist group.
The Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, is accused of launching many attacks against civilians in recent years, particularly against civilian communities in remote parts of eastern Congo.
The ADF has long opposed the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a US security ally who has been in power since 1986.
Created in the early 1990s in Uganda, the ADF was forced to flee to eastern Congo, where many rebel groups can operate because Congo’s central government has limited control.
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According to the Kivu Security Barometer (KST), the ADF is responsible for at least 3,850 deaths in 730 attacks perpetrated by the ADF.
Biggest attacks of its kind in recent years
Terrorist sniper attacks, like the one at the school in Uganda, have become more frequent in recent years. The resource has been used both by Islamic terrorist groups, such as the attacks in Paris, France. in 2015 and Mumbai, India, in 2008, as well as by right-wing extremists, as was the case with the Utoya attack, in Norway, in 2011. Below is a list of the worst attacks of this type in recent history
2008 – Mumbai attack, India: 164 dead: In the worst attack of its kind in recent history, militants from the Lashkar e-Taiba group, headquartered in Pakistan, attacked the city of Mumbai, India, in a wave of panic that lasted 3 days and left 164 dead. The main targets were hotels and other places frequented by Westerners. The group carried out ten simultaneous attacks in the city.
2015 – Paris attack, France: 130 dead: In a night of panic and terror, at least six simultaneous attacks hit different parts of Paris and left 130 dead. The wave of attacks, claimed by the Islamic State, was one of the biggest attacks organized by the group and shocked the world. The violence combined armed gunmen, explosions and the taking of hostages at a concert hall.
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2011 – Utoya bombing, Norway: 77 killed: In July 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Breivik stormed a Norwegian Labor Party youth camp on Utoya Island, outside Oslo, and opened fire on dozens of people, leaving 77 dead .
2019 – Christchurch, New Zealand bombing: 51 killed: In March 2019, A 28-year-old Australian man opened fire on two mosques in New Zealand and killed 51 people. The case shocked the country and promoted a broad debate on the ban on assault weapons, led by then Prime Minister Jacinda Arden. The name of the terrorist, who broadcast the massacre over the internet, was never released to avoid glorifying violence in the country.
2015 – San Bernardino bombing, USA, 14 dead: In December 2015, a heavily armed couple opened fire on a treatment center for people with disabilities in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people. The attack was also claimed by the Islamic State and treated as terrorism by the FBI.
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2015 – Attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine, France: 12 dead: In January 2015, Islamic militants invaded the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo magazine and killed 12 people after the publication of cartoons considered offensive to the Prophet Muhammad.
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