Kasese attack: Security arrests 20 suspected ADF collaborators

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga told reporters at the Naguru Police Headquarters in Kampala that security forces had detained 20 people they believed to be Allied Democratic Forces rebel collaborators.

This comes against the backdrop of Uganda's armed forces hunt for the rebels in the Rwenzururu mountains and inside Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"As part of our inquiries, we have also spoken with the head teacher and the director of the school. We need answers to specific queries from them," Enanga stated.

On Friday night, the Lhubiriha secondary school in the Mpondwe Kasese district was assaulted by alleged ADF rebels, who killed 42 people, including 37 kids.

The perpetrators, according to the authorities, used machetes to attack the girls and set fire to the boys' dormitories. 17 male students' charred bodies were found. Six people managed to live with injuries and are currently receiving care at various hospitals across the nation. Only 23 bodies have been given to families for burial, despite the fact that 25 have been inspected and identified so far.

The victims were students, ranging in age from 12 to 25.

The rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces have attacked Uganda in the past. In 25 years, this was the first attack on a school by the ADF.

58 students were killed when the ADF assaulted the Kabarole district's Kichwamba National Technical Institute in June 1998. Students had barricaded themselves in a dormitory at that time to prevent being kidnapped, and the rebels replied by torching the building. Approximately 100 pupils were kidnapped.

The Allied Democratic Forces are active in the Rwenzururu mountains of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Jamil Mukulu, the group's founder, has been detained since 2015.

Since 1996, the organisation has been opposing the Ugandan government.