Kamwenge, Uganda | NOW THEN DIGITAL — A Tuesday morning attack in Kamwenge District, western Uganda, has left at least 10 confirmed dead, according to police reports. The incident occurred around 2 am at Kyitehurizi trading center in Kyabandara Parish, Kamwenge Sub County. Four victims were burnt in a structure housing a shop, bar, and hotel, while six others guarding a maize farm were hacked to death.
The assailants, suspected to be Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants, reportedly targeted the Kyitehurizi trading center near Kibale National Park.
Police identified some victims as Margaret Banyazaki, 60, and Tugume, 25, with the identities of the other eight victims yet to be established. Preliminary findings indicate that 10 assailants armed with SMG rifles attacked and fatally burnt the victims. After the attack, the assailants looted a store and set a motorcycle ablaze before heading towards Kibale National Park. The police, deploying canine units and UPDF personnel, responded immediately, launching a manhunt led by Joint Security Agencies.
This incident follows President Museveni’s announcement on December 13 that Uganda conducted air strikes in September, killing at least 200 ADF rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ADF, originally Ugandan rebels with a Muslim majority, has been active in eastern DR Congo since the mid-1990s. In 2019, they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Despite joint offensives by Uganda and the DRC in 2021 to drive the ADF out of their Congolese strongholds, the group continues to carry out attacks. In recent years, the ADF has been accused of massacring thousands of civilians in DR Congo and conducting jihadist attacks on Ugandan soil. The United States offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of ADF leader Musa Baluku.
Recent developments include the arrest of ADF leader Abdul Rashid Kyoto in November and the UPDF’s operation in Kibaale National Park on December 13, where two ADF militants were killed, and their commander, Musa Kamusi, was injured. The hunt for remaining terrorists within the country continues, according to UPDF spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulaigye.
