After overrunning at most minuscule six rebel camps in eastern DR Cargo, Uganda’s army command claims it is running a tight ship in its operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and claims it has “already weakened the enemy’s capacity.”
This comes one month after the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) launched aerial attacks against the rebel group, followed by joint ground operations with the Congolese military, Forces Armees de la Republique Democratique du Congo (FARDC)
According to UPDF spokesperson Brig Flavia Byekwaso, the army incursion into eastern DRC has dislodged and scattered the ADF from their camps. Still, it has killed 100 rebels, captured at least 43, and surrendered 61.
Just before Christmas, the joint forces captured Kambi Ya Yua, described as the ADF’s headquarters and main training base. Belu I, Belu II, Mombasa, Kambi Erumu in North Kivu, and Ituru provinces in eastern DR Congo have also been taken.
The operation was first inhibited by poor access to the vast region, in addition to coordination issues.
“The start of this intervention was very slow, hampered by coordination issues between the UPDF and the FARDC.” It took the FARDC several days to appoint an interim commander for the operation.
It appears that they were surprised when the first bombs landed,” says Pierre Boisselet, coordinator of Kivu Security Tracker.
According to Brig Byekwaso, “Given the terrain and jungles, what we’ve done so far has been a success.” In the early days, it took us 11 hours to cover a four-Kilometres distance.
Despite claims that many rebels have been killed, captured or surrendered, the UPDF has not paraded any insurgents, claiming that the majority of them are being held by the FARDC and that the operation cannot parade them yet for security reasons.
After entering the operation in the second month, the army claims that the remaining ADF have fled to other camps that have yet to be identified.
According to Brig Byekwaso, Intelligence and surveillance keep discovering more camps, so at last, it’s true that ADF is hiding in that other camps.
On November 30, 32021, the UPDF launched airstrikes from Ugandan territory, hitting targets inside the DRC, after which the military deployed ground troops to hunt down the rebel group that has recently become affiliated with the terrorist-linked Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
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