KAMPALA
Ugandan security forces are hunting down suspected members of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who are accused of carrying out sporadic killings in the western part of the country.
"Today [Monday] we arrested five people in connection with the three murders in Kyegegwa district in western Uganda," deputy police spokesperson Namaye Pauline told Anadolu Agency.
"According to our intelligence, there were over 15 people who killed three people, including one female, one male and an assistant inspector of police," she said.
Pauline said the female victim, identified as 18-year-old Beata Mukachaka, was beheaded by the attackers.
The attack was carried out on Thursday as congregants prayed inside a church.
The police spokesperson said investigations were still underway with a view to confirming local residents' claims that the attackers were in fact ADF rebels.
"We cannot confirm now if these are ADF, but the locals say they were Muslims who carried out the attacks," she added.
The Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) has deployed troops to help police in their investigations and protect the citizenry.
Previously, local police had been in charge of investigations, before the national police and UPDF moved in.
"Even though Kyegegwa is near the ADF operation area, we still need to ascertain if they were the ones who carried out the attack," UPDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda told AA.
In April, Ugandan police issued a terror alert in which they warned that the ADF, which was routed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), would return to Uganda where it could pose a security threat.
They warned that the ADF was likely to carryout arson attacks on schools.
Led by one Jamilu Mukulu, a former Catholic, ADF members are mostly Muslims from central Uganda.
The rebels have been blamed for numerous attacks, including some on civilian targets, from 1996 to 2000 – before the UPDF finally managed to destroy their bases in western Uganda near the Congolese border.
The ADF, however, moved into eastern Congo, from which it continued to mount sporadic attacks against targets in Uganda.
In 2005, Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers launched "Operation North Night Final" with the stated aim of establishing peace in eastern DRC.
Yet despite these efforts to end its activities, the resilient rebel group has continued to operate from bases in eastern Congo.
By Halima Athumani
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
