On June 16th, a Congolese rebel group known as the Allied Democratic Forces (A.D.F.) attacked a secondary school in western Uganda, killing at least 41 people in the deadliest attack Uganda has seen in more than a decade. Students at the Lhubiriha Secondary School, located only 2 kilometers away from the Congolese border in the town of Mpondwe, were in their beds sleeping when the attack began around 11:30 pm. According to a statement by the Ugandan military, 6 students were abducted to carry food for the attackers, who Al Jazeera says may have ties to ISIS, while the rest of the victims died when a dormitory was set aflame. The military says that nearby Ugandan soldiers found the school on fire and filled with dead bodies.
One former Ugandan lawmaker, Winnie Kiiza, called this a “cowardly attack” on Twitter. “Attacks on schools are unacceptable and are a grave violation of children’s rights,” Kiiza said.
Mayor Selevest Mapoz said that the victims included 38 students, one guard, and two local residents. Ugandan troops have been sent to track down the A.D.F. attackers and to find the abducted students; Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni said that the troops would hunt the A.D.F. attackers “into extinction.”
“[The A.D.F.’s] action – the desperate, cowardly, terrorist action – will not save them,” Museveni said.
The Allied Democratic Forces stand in opposition to President Museveni, who has been in power for almost 40 years. According to the New York Times, the Ugandan and Congolese governments, whose relations have long been complicated thanks to the instability troubling the border they share, have joined forces in bringing down the A.D.F. However, Eastern Congo has more than 100 other, similar rebel groups causing violence and mass destruction in the region. These groups have more freedom to operate in Congo due to the limited government control, the Associated Press says.
In addition to denouncing the attack, local lawmakers and Western embassies have urged the Ugandan government to do more to prevent similar events in the future, the New York Times says. Children especially require increased protection measures. Strict policies against Congolese rebel groups must be implemented to prevent further atrocities like the Lhubiriha attack, and urgent action must be taken to find the A.D.F. attackers and the students they abducted.
The longstanding conflict in the Congo has caused violence and destruction in both the Congo and Uganda. In the face of danger from Congolese rebel groups, increased protection measures are necessary to prevent more innocent people from becoming victims of their crimes. It is also important to focus on long term peace-building solutions throughout this process, as violence against these rebel groups may only lead to more violence.
