A Uganda school attack left more than 40 dead as students were singing gospel songs before they were interrupted by gunfire by alleged Islamist militants on Friday.
A woman who lives opposite the school, Mary Masika, said that she heard the students singing but later heard screaming. Uganda authorities have blamed Islamic State-linked militants in the region for the deadly attack.
Deadly Uganda School Attack
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was created in the 1990s and took up arms against Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, with their reasoning being the persecution of Muslims. The group is largely based in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
The attack on Friday targeted the Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School, which is close to the border of the two regions. Masika added that she and several other residents were terrified by the assault, which they said lasted roughly 90 minutes, as per BBC.
The students at the school usually sing gospel songs before bedtime, and Masika and her daughter initially thought that the noise that interrupted the singing was the children having fun. However, they later realized something horrific was happening at the school, where roughly 60 boarders were living in a small compound.
The rebels were later found to have entered dormitories and set fire to them while using machetes to kill and maim students. One family living in Mpondwe held the funerals of a father and son on Sunday who were the fatal victims of the attack. They were identified as 47-year-old Elphanas Mbusa and 17-year-old Masereka Elton.
Another teenager, 15-year-old Brian Muhindo, also attending the school, was reported missing. Officials did not know whether he was one of the six boys the assailants kidnapped or if he was one of those whose bodies could not be identified due to being badly burned.
Now, Ugandan forces are trying to hunt down the assailants of the country's worst attack in the last decade. Museveni said he is committed to hunting the attackers "into extinction," according to Aljazeera.
Alleged Rebel Group Attack
In a statement, the Ugandan president said the rebels' actions show they are desperate and cowardly, adding that it would not save them. Museveni vowed to deploy more troops on the Ugandan side of the border for security purposes.
On Sunday, Pope Francis offered a prayer for the "young student victims of the brutal attack" that shocked the region and drew international criticism. Furthermore, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the attack an "appalling act."
Authorities said the assailants fled across the porous border into Congo following the killings on Friday night. The fatal victims include students, one guard, and two local community members who were outside the school when the incident occurred, said Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze.
The Ugandan military said that the attack consisted of five rebel group members adding that soldiers from a nearby brigade who responded to the assault discovered a fire. In a statement, military spokesman Brig. According to CBS News, Felix Kulayigye said that the dead bodies of students were seen lying in the compound.
