Five people feared dead in suspected ADF attack in Uganda

At least five people were killed, including a local leader, after suspected rebels from an armed group allied to ISIL (ISIS) attacked an area in western Uganda late on Monday, the area legislator told Reuters on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Kyabandara parish in Kamwenge district in Western Uganda at about 10pm (19:00 GMT), the lawmaker, Cuthbert Abigaba, said.

The attackers then killed a local councillor whom they found in a small roadside restaurant she operated alongside four of her clients who had just sat down for a meal, Abigaba said.

“After the killing, they burnt the restaurant and also proceeded and looted items from nearby shops before fleeing,” he said.

The deputy spokesperson for Uganda’s military, Deo Akiiki, confirmed the attack and said they would give details later.

The ADF was formed as an anti-Kampala rebel group in the mid-1990s and initially battled the government of President Yoweri Museveni from bases in the Rwenzori mountains.

After its formation, the group was eventually routed by the Ugandan army, with remnants fleeing into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo where they have since orchestrated deadly attacks with thousands of casualties in the last decade across both countries.

The ADF in 2019 pledged allegiance to ISIL, which has previously claimed responsibility for some of the ADF’s attacks.

Uganda launched a ground and air campaign against the ADF in the DR Congo in 2021. Museveni has said the operation has succeeded in killing a large number of rebels, including some commanders.

The group has continued to carry out attacks including on a school in Western Uganda in June in which dozens died and another that killed two foreign tourists and their Ugandan tour guide.