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☆ Uganda sends more troops to pursue attackers who killed 37 students
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/StringerKAMPALA, June 18 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday ordered more troops to western Uganda where attackers from a group with links to Islamic State killed at least 37 secondary school students. Members of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed the students late on Friday at Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Military and police said the attackers had also abducted six students and fled towards the Virunga National Park across the border. New Vision said 39 of the dead were students, and some were killed when the attackers set off a bomb as they fled. In April, the ADF attacked a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 20 people.

Persons: Stringer, Yoweri Museveni, Museveni, Ugandans, Janet Museveni, Elias Biryabarema, George Obulutsa, Giles Elgood Organizations: Secondary, Allied Democratic Forces, REUTERS, Sunday, Islamic, Lhubirira Secondary, Democratic, Military, ADF, Museveni, NTV Uganda, Vision, New Vision, United Nations, African Union, East, Authority, Development, Education, Thomson Locations: Mpondwe, Uganda, Stringer KAMPALA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwenzori, Congo, East African's

☆ Militants kill 37, abduct six others in attack on Ugandan school
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Military personnel found the bodies of the dead when they arrived at the school, defence spokesperson Felix Kulayigye said in a statement. The attackers, from the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), fled towards Virunga National Park in Congo, police said. Police said eight other people were in hospital with critical injuries after the attack at the Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe. He said an unidentified youth had gone to the school to check its layout before the attack. In April, the ADF attacked a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 20 people.

Persons: Felix Kulayigye, Dick Olum, Olum, Yoweri Museveni, Elias Biryabarema, Jose Joseph, George Obulutsa, Fiston Mahamba, William Mallard, Frances Kerry Organizations: Islamic State Military, Islamic State, Democratic, Military, Twitter, Allied Democratic Forces, Police, Secondary, Privately, NTV Uganda, Vision, New Vision, Mpondwe, Daily Monitor, ADF, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Mpondwe, Bengaluru, Nairobi, Fiston, Goma

☆ At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

At least six people were abducted by the rebels, who fled across the porous border into Congo after the raid on Friday night, according to the Ugandan military. The school, co-ed and privately owned, is located in the Ugandan district of Kasese, about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Congo border. The ADF has been accused of launching many attacks in recent years targeting civilians in remote parts of eastern Congo. In March , at least 19 people were killed in Congo by suspected ADF extremists. Ugandan authorities for years have vowed to track down ADF militants even outside Ugandan territory.

Persons: Selevest Mapoze, Mapoze, Felix Kulayigye, Joe Walusimbi, Winnie Kiiza, Yoweri Museveni Organizations: Uganda People's Defence Force, Secondary School, Islamic, AFP, Getty Images, Authorities, Lhubiriha Secondary School, Allied Democratic Forces, Associated Press, AP, Twitter, ADF Locations: Uganda, Mpondwe, Congo, Islamic State, Ugandan, Kasese, U.S

[1/3] Ugandan students hold placards as they participate in a peaceful walk to appreciate President Yoweri Museveni for signing the new anti-homosexuality law in Kampala, Uganda May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - The United States has imposed visa restrictions on Uganda officials after the African nation passed an anti-LGBTQ law that was condemned by many countries and the United Nations, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. U.S. President Joe Biden had threatened aid cuts and other sanctions, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last month the government would consider visa restrictions against Ugandan officials. "The United States strongly supports the Ugandan people and remains committed to advancing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Uganda and globally," the State Department said. The law also imposes a life sentence for same-sex intercourse and a 20-year sentence for promotion of homosexuality.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Abubaker, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Kanishka Singh, Susan Heavey, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, United, United Nations, U.S . State Department, The, Department, State Department, Thomson Locations: Kampala, Uganda, United States, U.S, Washington

☆ Opinion: Uganda anti-LGBTQ law is outrageous. Here’s the smart way to fight it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Opinion Brett Bruen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But perhaps most importantly in this context, it actually serves to further erode LGBTQ rights around the world. Putin has used attacks on LGBTQ rights as a way to try to appeal to African leaders, suggesting Russia is more aligned with their conservative values. Slapping stiff sanctions on Kampala will reinforce this rhetoric and allow the anti-LGBTQ attacks he’s using to gain greater strength. Instead, we should look at how to prominently elevate and sustain the focus on LGBTQ rights in our relations with Uganda as well as with these other nations. We should invite more Ugandan musicians, artists and actors to collaborate with leading American LGBTQ cultural figures.

Persons: Brett Bruen, Obama, Yoweri Museveni, doles, Brett Bruen CASME, Biden, George Santos, ” Santos, Ugandans, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Putin, Sen, Ted Cruz, Saddam Hussein Organizations: Inc, Georgetown University, Obama White House, CNN, State Department, United Arab, Ugandans, Twitter, Facebook Locations: American, Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Iraq, Madagascar, Uganda, United States, Kampala, East, Russia, Zimbabwe, Africa, China, Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Russian, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Eritrea

☆ Archbishop of Canterbury urges Ugandan Anglicans to reject anti-gay law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged the Anglican Church of Uganda to reject the country's new anti-LGBT law, saying there is no justification for Anglicans anywhere to support legislation that goes against the Christian teachings of the Gospel. Justin Welby, leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said he had written to Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba, the Primate of Uganda, to express "grief and dismay" at the church's stance. The Church of Uganda says 36% of Uganda's population of around 45 million are Anglicans. The Ugandan church has been at the forefront of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON), a conservative group. Reporting by Estelle Shirbon in London and George Obulutsa in Nairobi; Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Justin Welby, Stephen Kaziimba, Welby, Kaziimba, Ugandans, GAFCON, Estelle Shirbon, George Obulutsa, Frances Kerry Organizations: Anglican Future Conference, Thomson Locations: Canterbury, Uganda, London, Nairobi

☆ HIV alarm in Uganda as anti-gay law forces LGBT 'lockdown'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, June 8 (Reuters) - The HIV/AIDS treatment centre in Kampala is almost empty, days after Uganda enacted one of the most draconian anti-gay laws on Earth. "The LGBT community in Uganda is on lockdown now," he said. 'AFRAID TO LEAVE HOME'A rare patient visiting the Kampala clinic said he despaired at the new legislation. In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, PEPFAR provided $418.4 million in funding to Uganda, more than half of the country's HIV/AIDS treatment budget. The Ugandan bill toughened up an existing British colonial-era law, under which gay sex was already illegal.

Persons: Andrew Tendo, Yoweri Museveni, it's, Mary Borgman, Museveni, Joe Biden, PEPFAR, Borgman, Lillian Mworeko, Ugandans, Museveni didn't criminalise, Tendo, Aaron Ross, Pravin Organizations: Ice Breakers Uganda, REUTERS, Uganda AIDS Commission, US, AIDS Relief, National Security Council, East African, International, Thomson Locations: Makindye, Salaama, Kampala, Uganda, Abubaker, KAMPALA

☆ Uganda's President Museveni tests positive for COVID -health official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, June 7 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has tested positive for COVID-19, is in good health and will continue his duties, while getting treatment, a senior health ministry official said late on Wednesday. "Today ...the President tested positive for COVID-19. He said two of three tests he had done were negative, and he was waiting for the outcome of another. That is why you saw me coming in separate cars with Mama," Museveni said, referring to the First Lady Janet Museveni, who accompanied him to parliament. Reporting by George Obulutsa Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Diane Atwine, COVID, Museveni, Lady Janet Museveni, George Obulutsa, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Twitter, COVID, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Museveni, Uganda

CNN —Ugandan troops discovered the bodies of 54 Ugandan soldiers who were killed during an al-Shabaab attack on an African Union base in Somalia last week, according to Ugandan officials. “During that operation, UPDF discovered the lifeless bodies of 54 fallen soldiers, including Lt Col Edward Nyororo, the commander….,” the agency said. After Ugandan troops reclaimed the base, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced that two commanders who ordered their soldiers to retreat during the May 26 militant attack would face a court martial. Ugandan soldiers are stationed at the forward operating base as a peacekeeping force. Unverified images shared on jihadi media channels showed about a dozen Ugandan troops, with arms restrained behind their backs, being captured by the militants.

Persons: UPDF, Col Edward Nyororo, …, Yoweri Museveni, Oluka, Obbo, Shabaab, ” Organizations: CNN, African Union, Uganda People’s Defense Force, Twitter, European Union, United, Somali, US State Department Locations: Somalia, Uganda, Buulo Mareer, Mogadishu, State, United States

☆ Uganda says 54 soldiers killed by al Shabaab in Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KAMPALA, June 4 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said on Saturday that 54 Ugandan peacekeepers were killed in an attack last week by militant group al Shabaab on a military base in Somalia. Museveni said the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) had since recaptured the base from the Islamist group. “Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base by Tuesday,” the president said. Al Shabaab fighters had targeted the base early last Friday in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab, which has said it carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers at the base, has been fighting since 2006 to replace Somalia's Western-backed government with its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Museveni, “, ”, Al Shabaab, Kanjyik Ghosh, Elias Biryabarema, Cynthia Osterman, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Somalia's, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Shabaab, Somalia, Uganda, Bulamarer, Mogadishu, Al Shabaab, Bengaluru, Kampala

☆ Museveni says Uganda won't be swayed after anti-LGBTQ law triggers aid cut threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law, triggering widespread Western criticism including threats by U.S. President Joe Biden and others to cut aid to Uganda and impose other sanctions. If you try to recruit people into a disorientation, then we go for you. And that one I totally support, and I will support.”The law also imposes a life sentence for same-sex intercourse and a 20-year sentence for promotion of homosexuality. Firms including media and non-governmental organisations that knowingly promote LGBTQ activity will also incur harsh fines, the law says. Homosexuality was already illegal in the conservative and highly religious East African country, and homosexuals faced ostracism and harassment by security forces.

Persons: Pres Museveni, Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Museveni, George Obulutsa, Hugh Lawson Organizations: U.S, Resistance Movement, Thomson Locations: Uganda KAMPALA, Uganda

☆ Uganda accuses West of blackmail in its response to anti-LGBTQ law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KAMPALA, May 30 (Reuters) - Uganda on Tuesday condemned the Western response to the East African country's new anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, and said sanctions threats from donors amounted to "blackmail". The law signed by President Yoweri Museveni carries the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. In the Ugandan government's first detailed comments since Museveni signed the law, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi rejected the condemnation. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo"While we appreciate the support we get from partners, they must be reminded that we are a sovereign country and we do not legislate for the Western world. In an interview, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told Reuters he expects the courts to agree.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Josep Borrell, Museveni, Chris Baryomunsi, Abubaker, Human Rights Volker Turk, Turk, France's, Emma Farge, Alison Williams, Aaron Ross, Nick Macfie Organizations: Ugandan, Reuters, REUTERS, UN, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: KAMPALA, Uganda, EU, Kampala, Tanzania

☆ Biden warns Uganda of possible sanctions due to anti-gay law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden condemned Uganda's new anti-gay law on Monday, and said the United States may impose sanctions and will evaluate the implications of the law "on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda." Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," drawing Western condemnations and risking sanctions from aid donors. "This shameful act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda," Biden said in a statement. "And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption," said Biden. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes further.

CNN —Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world, the speaker of parliament said, defying international pressure. The bill includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality’ which includes sex with a minor, having sex while HIV positive and incest. The bill criminalizes sex education for the gay community and makes it illegal not to expose what it calls perpetrators of aggravated homosexuality to the police. Uganda’s longtime president has already faced extensive criticism from Western governments, including the US, over the law. “The civil society in Uganda together with the LGBTQI community are prepared to take this to the courts and challenge the law.

☆ Uganda’s President Signs Punitive Anti-Gay Bill Into Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The president of Uganda signed a punitive anti-gay bill on Monday that includes the death penalty, enshrining into law an intensifying crackdown against L.G.B.T.Q. people in the conservative East African nation and dismissing widespread calls not to impose one of the world’s most restrictive anti-gay measures. The law, which was introduced in Parliament in March, calls for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in gay sex. Anyone who tries to have same-sex relations could be liable for up to a decade in prison. The offense of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” carries a sentence of up to 14 years.

☆ Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes much further. It imposes capital punishment for some behaviour including transmitting a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex, and stipulates a 20-year sentence for "promoting" homosexuality. Uganda receives billions of dollars in foreign aid each year and could now face another round of sanctions. The bill's sponsor Asuman Basalirwa told reporters that parliament speaker Anita Among's U.S. visa was cancelled after the law was signed. "Our data shows that this law runs counter to the interests of economic progress and prosperity of all people in Uganda," he said.

☆ Uganda confirms casualties among country's soldiers in Somali attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The assailants numbered about 800 and during the attack the Ugandan troops were forced to withdraw to a nearby base, about nine kilometres away, he said. Al Shabaab fighters targeted the base early on Friday in Bulamarer, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab said in a statement at the time that it had carried out suicide bomb attacks and killed 137 soldiers at the base. Al Shabaab tends to give casualty figures in attacks that differ from those issued by the authorities. ATMIS has so far not said how many troops were killed or wounded in the attack.

☆ Uganda parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ bill mostly unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The legislation now heads back to President Yoweri Museveni, who can sign it, veto it or return it again to parliament. It was not immediately clear if the new bill satisfied his requests, and his office was not available for comment. Proponents of the bill say broad legislation is needed to counter what they allege, without evidence, are efforts by LGBTQ Ugandans to recruit children into homosexuality. Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to another anti-LGBTQ law Museveni signed in 2014. The U.S. government said last week that it was assessing the implications of the looming law for activities in Uganda under its flagship HIV/AIDS programme.

CNN —Uganda’s parliament has passed an amended version of the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 on Tuesday. Under the new proposed bill, homosexual conduct will still be illegal, but identifying as homosexual without conducting in homosexual acts will not be outlawed. The new bill has made amendments to distinguish between those who identify or appear to be LGBTQ+ and those who actually engage in homosexual acts. Sign it or veto itThe bill will now be returned to President Museveni who will decide whether to sign it into law or veto it. Scientists and academics had urged Museveni to veto the bill, which has been widely condemned by Western nations and human rights organizations.

☆ Uganda police arrest 11 female lawmakers during protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, April 27 (Reuters) - Police in Uganda detained 11 female members of parliament on Thursday who they accused of staging of an unlawful protest, with some of the lawmakers sustaining injuries during their arrest. They were protesting what they said was police brutality and use of excessive force to disperse various functions organised by female lawmakers in their local constituencies in recent weeks. "I strongly condemn the manner in which police this morning arrested the 11 women members of parliament who were peaceful and unarmed. He accused the lawmakers of resisting arrest and injuring some police officers. Over the years Uganda's security personnel have frequently been accused of brutality especially against opponents of veteran leader Yoweri Museveni.

☆ LGBTQ Ugandans live in fear as new law looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A British colonial-era law bans gay sex, and members of the community are often victims of violence and discrimination. One resident contrasted the current atmosphere with 2013, when parliament passed a bill that strengthened penalties for same-sex relations. After parliament passed the bill, she deleted her Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter accounts. Other LGBTQ Ugandans said they were taking security precautions like changing the routes they use to travel between home and work and carrying pepper spray. For LGBTQ Ugandans living abroad, the new reality is also clouding their prospects of coming home.

☆ Podcast: Gay in Uganda - A life or death situation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni must this week either sign, veto or send back to parliament one of the world’s toughest anti-gay bills. Whatever he decides, life for the country’s LGBTQ community is a dangerous endeavour. A corruption scandal at FC Barcelona and the war of words over Spain’s fascist past. Abortion activists and doctors look for alternatives as the Supreme Court considers the future of abortion pill Mifepristone. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda's president sends anti-LGBTQ bill back to parliament for 'strengthening'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni speaks during a Reuters interview at his farm in Kisozi settlement of Gomba district, in the Central Region of Uganda, January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, April 20 (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni supports a bill containing some of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation but will send it back to parliament for "strengthening", the ruling party's chief whip said. A group of lawmakers from Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) discussed the bill with the president and agreed in principle to make it law, chief whip Denis Hamson Obua said. Obua said Museveni would hold a meeting on Tuesday with parliament's legal and parliamentary affairs committee to draft the amendments. Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to the law Museveni signed in 2014.

☆ Uganda: Leading scientists urge President Museveni to veto anti-LGBT bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A group of leading global scientists and academics have signed an open letter urging Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to veto a hardline bill criminalizing homosexuality in the country. The Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, which was passed by Ugandan lawmakers in March, is set to be either signed into law or vetoed by the president on Thursday. Before the bill was passed almost unanimously last month, President Museveni called on scientists to establish whether homosexuality was natural or learned. The letter has been signed by 15 leading scientists around the world, from countries including South Africa, the United States, Canada, the UK, Kenya, and Australia. Under the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023, it would be a crime to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer.

☆ Ugandan LGBTQ activist readies for the fight of his life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Since then, as Mugisha has emerged as the country's most prominent LGBTQ rights activist, the perils have multiplied. "The Ugandan population has been radicalised to fear and hate homosexuals," Mugisha, 38, told Reuters during an interview outside the capital, Kampala. "I guess I am going to be in trouble a lot because I am not going to stop," Mugisha said. [1/5] Ugandan LGBTQ activist Frank Mugisha poses for a photograph after a Reuters interview in Makindye, suburb, of Kampala, Uganda March 30, 2023. In 2007, Mugisha took over leadership of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an advocacy group he had earlier joined as an activist.

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