World Tour: School attack in Uganda

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: It’s WORLD Tour, with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Uganda students attacked — Today’s global roundup starts in western Uganda where residents are still reeling from a deadly insurgent attack.

AUDIO: [Funeral singing]

Grieving family members cried and sang on Sunday as they buried some of the 42 people who died in the Friday night attack on a secondary school.

AUDIO: [Mourning]

Ugandan authorities said the insurgents targeted two dormitories just over a mile from the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Authorities said the attackers used a petrol bomb to target some of the students and also shot others to death. Some of them were burned beyond recognition.

The victims include a school guard and 38 students. The insurgents also abducted six students and fled into Congo.

MAN: [Speaking Kikonzo]

This 16-year-old survivor says he and his schoolmates hid under their beds as the insurgents opened fire on the door and windows.

Authorities blamed the Allied Democratic Forces, a militant group that operates in eastern Congo and has ties to the Islamic State.

Janet Museveni is Uganda’s first lady and education minister.

JANET MUSEVENI: The government through the security agencies is trying to follow up what actually happened. And it is on the top of the situation, we believe that justice will prevail.

Authorities have detained 20 suspects.

Greece shipwreck — We head over to Greece.

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

About 200 people marched to the offices of the European border agency and the Greek coast guard on Sunday.

That’s after a deadly migrant sinking off the Greek coast killed at least 81 people last week. Hundreds of others are feared missing at sea.

The migrants had boarded the fishing vessel from eastern Libya and were heading for Italy when the boat began sinking. Responders rescued more than a hundred of the migrants. The passengers include people from Egypt, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, and Syria.

This nurse with the Hellenic Red Cross says the survivors were all young men.

NURSE: One young man started to cry and said “I need my mother, I need my mother.” This was a very difficult moment as a nurse of Hellenic Red Cross and as a mother to listen to a young man in a very bad situation.

Greek authorities have faced criticism over their delayed response. But the coast guard has argued the migrants initially insisted they did not need help.

Jeremy Laurence is the spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights office.

JEREMY LAURENCE: What happened on Wednesday underscores the need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they are brought to justice.

Greek authorities have detained nine Egyptian suspects. Authorities in Pakistan have also arrested 12 suspected traffickers. More than 1,200 migrants have died or gone missing this year across the Mediterranean.

Indian heatwave — Next to India, where residents are battling sweltering conditions.

AUDIO: [Waterpark]

Residents crowded in waterparks and along the riverbanks to cool off over the weekend.

AUDIO: [Ambulances]

Authorities said about 170 people have died during the heatwave in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and in eastern Bihar state.

Many of the victims were over 60 years old and had preexisting conditions.

MAN: [Speaking Hindi]

This man in Bihar said his relative collapsed after going out in the afternoon. Doctors later declared him dead at a hospital.

Power outages in the region have left many without fans or air conditioners as hospitals struggle to respond to the rising needs.

India typically experiences severe heat conditions in the summer before the monsoon rains begin.

Mexico missing — We close today in Mexico.

AUDIO: [Chanting]

Dozens of chanting family members held banners with photos of their loved ones outside the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City.

Attendees said they hoped the Sunday march and prayer will draw attention to the people who go missing in the country because of violence.

AUDIO: [Mass]

Participants attended Mass together and later met with church representatives.

WOMAN: [Speaking Spanish]

This woman whose son went missing says the event provided an opportunity for them to be heard.

Mexican authorities launched a registry of missing persons last month after authorities tracked more than 100,000 missing people.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

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