UPDF Attack on ADF was Uganda, DRC Intelligence Led

The Ugandan army has said that the targeted attack on camps harboring the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in DRC was a result of coordinated intelligence between the two countries.

In a preemptive move, UPDF conducted attacks on ADF camps in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday, in an attempt to neutralize the rebel outfit that has destabilized the region for many years.

Hours after the attack, the UPDF spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire revealed that Friday’s operation against ADF was a culmination of joint efforts agreed on by Uganda and DRC military authorities to weed out the rebels.

It is not yet clear how much impact the attack had on the rebel camps or if any of them were killed.

According to Brig Karemire, DRC authorities recently proposed that the two countries plan and conduct limited joint operations against the “growing terrorist menance in our neighborhood”.

“Our respective officials at Senior command level in the military and intelligence set about the work of thrashing out the details of this operation and shared the same with the highest authorities of both countries,” a statement by the UPDF read in part.

The army spokesperson added that “today’s attack on ADF camps by UPDF employing a combination of capabilities, is a culmination of this process [joint intelligence]”.

“These terrorists should know that they may only buy time but will be targeted wherever they go,” Brig Karemire said.

Weeks ago, the ADF attacked a UN Peacekeeping mission in Eastern DRC, killing 15 peacekeepers.

Since the late 1990s, the ADF which originated in Uganda has operated in the DRC’s North Kivu province near the border with Uganda.

Some of the infamous attacks by the group include the one in Beni town, North Kivu in DRC which killed about 100 people in 2016 and the massacre in 1998 at Uganda Technical College Kichwamba in Kabarole district where 80 students were burnt alive while 100 others were abducted.

Despite repeated military offensives made against the group, it has been able to regenerate.