ADF opens cell in Mozambique, says security expert
Kisoro- The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are shifting their bases from DR Congo to a volatile part of northern Mozambique, a top counter-terrorism official has said.
The senior official, who preferred anonymity because revelation of his name could prevent his ability to do his work, said the group has Madinat Tawhid-wa-I-Muwahidin (MTM) and is now allied to al-Qaeda, the Osama bin Laden-founded terrorist group.
“We suspect that the MTM, which is also fighting Mozambique government, is led by a Ugandan associated with ADF. There is efforts to ensure that they don’t use Mozambique for training,” the official said at the weekend.
We could not independently verify this account.
Government for the past couple of years has claimed that ADF, which it initially claimed to have obliterated during a raid on the group’s eastern DRC lairs, is resurging.
Police and other security agencies have also blamed the group for a string of killings of high profile government officials and clerics.
The counter-terrorism official said they had mapped cases of some Ugandans undergoing training in northern Mozambique and returning to run ADF cells in Kampala.
Linked to ADF
Last year, six people suspected to be linked to the group were arrested by Mozambican security personnel after a raid on their terrorist camp in Cabo Delgado District, Mocimboa da Praia, in the north of the country.
The six include the leader of Usafi Mosque in Kampala, Abdul Rahman Faisal Nsamba, as well as Mansour Kigozi and four others.
Mr Kigozi told investigators that he had been ordered by his superiors to travel from DR Congo to Mozambique to trace his colleagues who had left camps in the eastern enclave of the vast and mineral country without prior notice.
Mr Richard Kabonero, Uganda’s ambassador to Tanzania, who oversees Mozambique, said he met Mozambican officials to discuss the extradition of the six suspects who are also wanted on by Ugandan authorities on offences ranging from terrorism to kidnap-for-ransom.
“I met with Mozambican officials and we made a formal request for extradition of the suspects. However, the process is through Interpol and the regional Counter-Terrorism Centre in Nairobi is following up,” Mr Kabonero said.
Since their arrest, President Museveni has accelerated diplomacy between Uganda and Mozambique.
Last week, Mr Museveni directed Defence ministry officials, Mr Kabonero and the UPDF Member of Parliament, Gen Ivan Koreta, to visit and deliver Shs740m in aid to storm victims as a sign of solidarity.
