Bodies Charred Beyond Recognition, Girls Killed With Machetes In Uganda School Attack: Report

A police official said that some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and DNA testing would be required to identify them

New Delhi: Militants linked to the Islamic State group hacked and burned 37 students to death in one of the deadliest attacks at a school in western Uganda on Friday, news agency AFP reported. According to the report, dormitories were set on fire and the students cut down with knives in the late-night attack carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to the report, apart from the 37 deceased, eight people were injured and six others were kidnapped and taken by the attackers toward Virunga National Park, which straddles the DR Congo border.

Police and military units were alerted of a “big attack” at Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, as per the report. “On arrival the school was found burning and the dead bodies of students were found lying in the compound and the school's food store broken into with items missing,” AFP quoted a police report.

“They knew where the boys’ and girls' dormitories resided. This is why the rebels locked the boys' dormitory and set it on fire. The rebels did not lock girls' section and the girls managed to get out, but they were cut with machetes as they ran for safety, and others shot,” AFP quoted one of the police officials as saying.

The official further said that some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and DNA testing would be required to identify them. "We have called for more firepower, planes to help in the rescue operation of those abducted, and locating the rebel hideouts for military action," he said.

Notably, the militias, including the ADF, also use the vast expanse, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, as a hideout. Uganda and the DRC have held joint military operations in the east Congo to prevent attacks by the ADF. 

However, the attack is the first of its kind amid a continuous fight between DRC and ADF. 

BBC reported that In June 1998, 80 students were burnt to death in their dormitories in an ADF attack on Kichwamba Technical Institute near the border of DRC. Over 100 students were abducted, BBC mentioned.