KAMPALA, Uganda

Hundreds of people belonging to a religious sect in eastern Uganda have fled from their villages to Ethiopia, Ugandan police said Sunday.

Police said that according to their investigations, the sect members fled to escape the end of the world, which they believe will start from their area.

They said the members of the sect were told by its leaders that their area would soon be hit with death and all the people there would die. They reportedly sold off their property and fled to Ethiopia, from where they are communicating with some of their relatives in Uganda.

“We are investigating a religious sect called Christ Disciples Church with its base located in Obululum village in the eastern Uganda district of Serere. We started the investigations after getting information that people were being trafficked to Ethiopia since February and it is going on till today," area police spokesman Oscar Ogeca told Anadolu.

He said the people, who number in the hundreds, were told by their leaders that death is coming soon to their area and the only place they would be safe is in Ethiopia. They were convinced that they should go and spread the gospel there.

He said those who have gone are from three districts -- Serere, Kumi and Ngora.

A local leader in the area, Bruno Esere, told Anadolu that those who went to Ethiopia sold their property to raise money for transportation without the knowledge of the village leaders.

In Uganda, there are several religious sects and cults which at times lead to people dying due to being misguided.

On March 17, 2000, a cult led by Joseph Kibwetere masterminded a tragic inferno in which over 700 people died. Kibwetere convinced his followers to sell all their property, claiming the world was soon coming to an end. They gave him the money before he locked them in the church and set it on fire.