Ugandan authorities say at least 42 people were killed in a rebel attack on a school near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Friday, June 16.

Uganda’s Defence Spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye noted that: "Last night 16th June 2023 at 11:30 pm a group of ADF Terrorists attacked Mpondwe/ Lhubiria SS in Nyabugando Parish Karambi Sub County Kasese District.

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"Our forces are pursuing the enemy to rescue those abducted and destroy this group.”

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), is a Ugandan group based in eastern DRC that has pledged allegiance to the ISIL (ISIS) group.

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According to the Ugandan police, the ADF rebels burnt the boys’ dormitory, killing a number of students with fire, while others were hacked to death.

Others at the school, mostly girls, were abducted by the group, the police said.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga earlier said about eight survivors were found but in critical condition and are undergoing treatment at Bwera Government General Hospital.

In response to the attacks, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has heavily deployed its troops to Kasese, as part of efforts to track down the rebels.

"We have sent for choppers to be deployed in our search and rescue operation for the students who were abducted"- Maj Gen Dick Olum, the UPDF commander of mountain division and operation Shujaa in DR Congo, said, as he addressed locals in Kasese.

The ADF, which began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in the DR Congo since the late 1990s pledged allegiance to ISIL (ISIS). They are active in the northern parts of North Kivu province and southern parts of Ituri province bordering Uganda.