Ugandan students' parents submit DNA samples to ID massacre victims

AFP

Parents of students missing after an attack on a school in western Uganda are flocking to the local police station to submit DNA samples that could identify their children among the 42 bodies that have been recovered.

One of Uganda's biggest massacres in recent decades occurred Friday night at Lhubirira Secondary School. Assailants set a dormitory full of boys alight, then attacked a dormitory full of girls.

Six students were also abducted by the attackers, who the authorities say were fighters from an IS-affiliated group based across the border in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Regional police commander Tai Ramadhan said many of the dead bodies were charred beyond recognition, forcing investigators to use DNA samples from relatives to try to identify them.

Authorities said on Monday that 20 suspected "collaborators" of the attackers, including the school's head teacher, had been detained for questioning.

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