ADF abducts 365 inmates in attack on prison

An estimated 200 rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Katojo prison near Fort Portal in western Uganda early on Thursday, killing two and abducting 365 of the 902 inmates, Ugandan newspapers reported on Friday. Minister of State for Defence, Steven Kavuma, told a press conference in Kampala that a Ugandan soldier and the wife of a prison warder had been killed, the independent 'Monitor' newspaper reported. The attack was aimed at gaining publicity for the ADF, reinforcing its depleted ranks through abductions and diverting the Ugandan army from its ongoing offensive against the rebels in the Ruwenzori mountains, Kavuma said. The prison had some ADF and treason suspects, the semi-official 'New Vision' newspaper quoted Kavuma as saying. ADF spokesman Rogers Kabanda, quoted by the 'Monitor', said the rebels' target was Ugandan Chief of Staff Brigadier James Kazini, who was reportedly in Fort Portal at that time. "We missed him narrowly but we are still looking for him," Kabanda said.