The attack took place on Saturday in three districts in western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the army.

The assailants, armed with small guns and machetes, attacked police and army installations in Bundibugyo, Kasese, and Fort Portal districts, killing one civilian and one soldier.

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A soldier based in Bundibugyo told AFP that the group was attempting to obtain weapons in order to form an ethnic-based extremist movement but was repelled by security forces.

The attack was led by a man named Christian Asuman Muganzi, a traditional healer, according to Albert Kaliruga, the deputy regional security officer.

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Kaliruga told AFP that the healer was found hiding in Kakuka, Bundibugyo, on Tuesday and was killed along with more than 20 of his fighters, while another 15 were captured.

“He used his rural shrine in Kakuka to mobilize and recruit people into his criminal group,” Kaliruga said.

He added: “In his shrine, we found traditional herbs, ritual items, and other materials he used to encourage his followers and protect them during combat.”

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Uganda has previously spent many years battling the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), an extremist rebel group led by Joseph Kony in the 1990s and 2000s.

Currently, the country remains concerned about attacks coming from its western border with the DRC, a volatile forest region inhabited by numerous armed groups, some of which are allied with the Islamic State.