Ugandan border town buries victims of rebel massacre that left 42 dead, mostly students

A Ugandan border town on June 18, began burying the victims of a brutal attack on a school that left 42 people dead, some students were burned beyond recognition; others were shot or hacked to death.

A bereaved Ugandan border town on June 18 began burying the victims of a brutal attack carried out on a school by suspected extremist rebels that left 42 people dead, most of them students, as security forces stepped up patrols along the frontier with volatile Eastern Congo.

One of eight people wounded in night attack on June 16, in which 38 students were killed, died overnight, said Selevest Mapoze, Mayor of the town Mpondwe-Lhubiriha.

“Most of the relatives have come to take their bodies” from the morgue, Mr. Mapoze said.

In addition to the 38 students, the victims include a school guard and three civilians. At least two of them, members of the same family, were buried on June 18.

Some students were burned beyond recognition; others were shot or hacked to death after militants armed with guns and machetes attacked Lhubiriha Secondary School, co-ed and privately owned, which is located about two kilometers from the Congo border. Ugandan authorities believe at least six students were abducted, taken as porters back inside Congo.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack in a statement, urging “the importance of collective efforts, including through enhanced regional partnerships, to tackle cross-border insecurity between Congo and Uganda and restore durable peace in the area."

The atmosphere in Mpondwe-Lhubiriha was tense but calm remained as Ugandan security forces roamed the streets outside and near the school on June 18, which was protected by a police cordon.