GOMA, DRC — The army in Democratic Republic of Congo has repulsed militants of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) following a military campaign in the eastern city of Beni against the ADF, a Ugandan rebel group blamed for killing thousands of civilians including 15 U.N. peacekeepers last month.
The operation that started last Saturday aims at bringing peace in the east of the country, Mak Hazukay, a spokesman for the army in North Kivu province, told Soft Power News.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed how many of the ADF rebels were killed or injured, SoftPower News understands that 5 congolese soldiers sustained injuries in the assault while 3 were seriously wounded.
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) have taken over two ADF camps.
“Members of the Allied Democratic Forces also tried to attack the city of Beni this morning and the Congolese army is fighting them. We shall fight till we defeat them,” Hazukay said.
On Monday morning, the Mayor of the city of Beni, Nyonyi Masumbuko was reporting sound of gunshots and heavy weapons.
Congo, almost the size of Western Europe and the world’s largest source of cobalt, has for two decades struggled to defeat dozens of local and foreign militias including Allied Democratic Forces, whose leader Jamil Mukulu was arrested in Tanzania in 2015.
Hazukay said the operation is part of a joint effort by his government and Ugandan army against the Allied Democratic Forces. Last month, Ugandan army launched airstrikes and artillery attacks on bases of ADF and over 100 of the combatants of the islamist terrorist group were killed in eight camps.
On Sunday, military Chiefs from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Tanzania met President Yoweri Museveni at State House in Entebbe and highlighted the need for the different partner states to combine efforts to eliminate the threat posed by the Allied Democratic Forces.