Around 40 people, mostly students, have been killed at a school in western Uganda by rebels linked to the Islamic State group.
A further eight people remain in a critical condition after the attack on Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe.
Boys who were staying in dormitories at the school are among the dead.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – have been blamed for Friday’s attack.
Many of the bodies were transferred to Bwera Hospital, national police spokesperson Fred Enanga said.
The attack happened at around 23:30 local time (20:30 GMT) on Friday at the school in the Kasese district in western Uganda.
Over 60 people are educated at the school, most of whom live there.ADF rebels burnt a dormitory and a food store was also looted during the incident, Mr Enanga said.
Some of the boys were burnt or hacked to death, Major General Dick Olum from the Ugandan army told the media.Others at the school, mostly girls, have been abducted by the group, he added.
Some of the bodies are said to have been badly burnt and DNA tests will need to be carried out to identify them.
The attackers are said to have torched the students’ mattresses and are also thought to have detonated bombs in the region.
Members of the wider community are possibly among the dead. A number of students remain unaccounted for.
Soldiers are pursuing ADF insurgents towards the DRC’s Virunga National park – Africa’s oldest and largest national park which is home to rare species, including mountain gorillas.
Militias including the ADF also use the vast expanse, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, as a hideout.
“Our forces are pursuing the enemy to rescue those abducted and destroy this group,” defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said on Twitter.
The Ugandan army has also deployed planes to help track the rebel group.
Uganda and the DRC have held joint military operations in the east Congo to prevent attacks by the ADF.
Security forces had intelligence that rebels were in the border area on the DRC side for at least two days before Friday night’s attack, Major General Olum said. (BBC)
