Breaking! Gunmen Attack Police Stations In Kasese, Several Killed | Security Tightened Across Rwenzori Region

By Our Reporter

Ugandan security forces have launched a manhunt after unidentified gunmen attacked a police barracks in Kasese District overnight, setting a police house ablaze and sparking gunfire exchanges that spread to parts of Bundibugyo District.

The coordinated assaults, which occurred around midnight on Saturday, targeted the Kasese Central Police Station, a nearby police barracks, and the Rugendabara Police Post, leaving parts of the compound damaged and several people feared dead. Witnesses reported hearing heavy gunfire that echoed across Kasese Municipality and surrounding areas.

A senior police official confirmed the incident early Saturday, saying investigations were underway.

“We can confirm an incident occurred at our barracks in Kasese. Investigations are ongoing, and a detailed statement will be issued shortly,” the officer said.

Security sources said that several suspected attackers were shot dead while others were arrested during the ensuing confrontations. Preliminary reports suggest that at least 10 people may have been killed, though the figure remains unverified. Police confirmed that two panga-wielding assailants were gunned down, while others are in custody.

One of the attackers was found dead near Grace Cathedral, close to the police barracks, where security officers have cordoned off the area. Eyewitnesses said a temporary shelter within the barracks was set ablaze during the assault.

By early morning, heavy gunfire was also reported in Bundibugyo District, about 80 kilometers from Kasese, where Field Force Unit (FFU) officers exchanged fire with armed men believed to have crossed from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Authorities said joint police and milita

ry patrols were swiftly deployed to contain the situation.

“We have reinforced our units and are engaging the threat,” a security officer said.

The motive for the attacks remains unclear, and no group has yet claimed responsibility. However, the pattern of simultaneous, cross-border assaults bears similarities to tactics previously used by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia operating from eastern DRC that has in the past carried out deadly raids in western Uganda.

Authorities have since heightened security across Kasese and Bundibugyo, urging residents to remain indoors as investigations continue. Heavily armed police and military personnel have been deployed to key installations and road junctions across the Rwenzori sub-region.

The incidents have reignited fears of renewed instability along Uganda’s western frontier, which has long been vulnerable to incursions by armed groups operating from across the DRC border.

As of Saturday afternoon, both districts remained under tight security as joint forces combed the area for remaining suspects and assessed the extent of the damage.