UN chief condemns school attack in Uganda

United Nations (IANS) | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the attack on a school in western Uganda by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group. Ugandan officials said on Saturday that ADF rebels attacked Lubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe on the Congolese border on Friday night, killing at least 37 children and leaving at least eight children in critical condition. While six are in the possession of the rebels.

Deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement quoting Xinhua news agency that those responsible for this horrific attack should be severely punished.

The secretary-general expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Uganda, and called for the immediate release of the abducted people, the statement said.

It added that Guterres reiterated the importance of collective efforts, including regional partnership, between Congo and Uganda to tackle cross-border insecurity and restore lasting peace in the region.

The ADF is a Ugandan rebel group, hiding in the jungles of eastern Congo. It is a branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

The rebel group has been accused of carrying out attacks in villages in eastern Congo. The Ugandan military and their Congolese counterparts launched a joint operation against the rebel group in November 2021.

–IANS