Uganda is facing a resurgent threat from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group, more than a year after it launched a joint operation to hunt down the group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Indeed, recently ADF rebels attempted to cross into Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing security agencies to admit that the country now faces threats on three fronts. This showed that the militants have regrouped inside the country and are planning explosive attacks. In addition, raids on villages and police stations have resulted in the death of civilians and several officers, as well as the loss of 16 weapons.
The revelations are in a report by the monitoring group of experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, presented to the UN Security Council on December 16. It shows that Uganda’s joint military operation with the Congolese army “has not had the expected result of defeating or substantially weakening the ADF. ”
Read: UN: Complex violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo challenges military operations
The report adds that the intensity and impact of Operation Shujaa, as a joint operation between the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and FARDC forces, has diminished as both armies face logistical constraints and difficult terrain. within the Ituri and North Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The joint operation was deployed on November 30, 2021.
Experts state that despite the destruction of certain camps and some arrests, the ADF leadership remains intact and the terrorist rebel group has returned to its traditional strongholds, including near the UPDF bases in the DRC on the border with Uganda, where the army tried to establish a buffer zone.
Indeed, on December 13, a group of around 40 ADF fighters crossed the Semliki River and attacked villages in the sub-country of Bweramule, Ntoroko District, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo, before the UPDF repelled them. , killing 17 and capturing 15, while others allegedly drowned in the river while trying to recross. Three civilians were confirmed dead in the crossfire.
Also read: Ugandan troops kill 15 ADF rebels
At the height of the attacks, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, General David Muhoozi, presented a report in Parliament on November 30, showing 12 attacks against police posts, one against an army barracks and 16 weapons stolen in three months.
Other security analysts argue that ADF terror cells are reactivating because the group’s fighters are returning to the country after their camps in eastern Congo were destroyed by UPDF air and artillery bombardments, as well as by Operation Shujaa.
