Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kampala (Agenzia Fides) - The group that committed the massacre at the Lhubiriha secondary school (Kasese district, western Uganda) on the night of June 17-18 had been in the area for at least two days. This was stated by General Prit Olum, commander of the mountain division of the Ugandan army, which controls the border area between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from where the commando belonging to the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) came from and attacked the school, killing at least 37 people, mostly students, and kidnapping at least 6 students. According to General Olum, the attack on the school which is located a few kilometers from the Congolese border, is in response to the offensive launched some time ago by the Congolese and Ugandan armed forces against the ADF in the DRC territory, where the group of Ugandan origin has had its foundations for decades. As Fides Agency has repeatedly reported, the ADF attacks almost exclusively Congolese civilians. The massacre in Ugandan territory comes 25 years after a similar episode on June 8, 1998, when ADF rebels attacked the Kichwamba Technical Institute, killing 80 students and kidnapping several more. The latest acts of terrorism attributed to the ADF in Uganda date back to 2021, with a series of bombings in the capital, Kampala, and a subsequent failed assault attempt on the town of Ntoroko in December 2022. The statements by the senior Ugandan official raise questions about the effectiveness of the Ugandan security forces. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also seems to be addressing a veiled criticism of the army when in his statement on the massacre he asked himself: "Did the alarm go off and who did it? How did the nearby security officers respond? Why didn't our people operating in the Congo have information about this splinter group?" Museveni is no stranger to criticism of his military (see Fides, 12/5/2023). The Head of State has stated that Ugandan troops will not withdraw from the Mwalika Valley, where they are hunting "the Arab Abua-Kasi", who is said to be the leader of the ADF who joined the Islamic State some time ago. First Lady Janet Museveni, who is also Education Minister, has stated that "there is a feeling that perhaps the terrorist group has been used by people who want to take over the school", citing an old rivalry between some members of the local community and Canadian sponsors for school property. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 19/6/2023)
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