Some ADF rebels who attacked Ntoroko eaten by crocodiles- Kulayigye
UPDF spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye. PHOTO/ UPDF
What you need to know:
- The Defence spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye said 13 of the rebels were in their custody after they were captured during the attack that left one civilian dead and two others injured, while some of the militias reportedly drowned in River Semuliki
Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) on Friday said they killed 17 Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels after they crossed into Ntoroko District from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the first known incursion by the group this year.
The Defence spokesperson, Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye said 13 of the rebels were in their custody after they were captured during the attack that left one civilian dead and two others injured, while some of the militias reportedly drowned in River Semliki.
“ADF killed one person and injured two. Those who crossed into Uganda were about 40. As we speak, all the 40 are accounted for on our side. Seventeen were killed in action, 13 were captured alive, 17 AK47S and one PK machine gun were captured. None of those who came from Congo to attack Ntoroko went back. Those who attempted to go back drowned in River Semliki and the crocodile’s enjoyed them,” Brig Gen Kulayigye told journalists in Kampala, adding that the intention of incursion by the militia group was to divert UPDF from the pressure that “we have mounted in Ituri province.”
Uganda was hit by a series of bombings in October and November last year that killed five people and injured dozens, with the authorities blaming a "domestic terror group" with ties to the ADF for the blasts.
Following the attacks, Uganda deployed forces and launched air and artillery strikes in the DRC against the ADF, after Kinshasa gave Kampala approval to pursue the militants on its soil.
Last year, the United States placed the ADF on its list of "terrorist" organisations linked to IS.
Uganda has also blamed the group for a foiled bomb attack in August 2021 on the funeral of deputy Inspector General of Police, Gen Paul Lokech, an army commander who led a major offensive against Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia.
The DRC has witnessed fierce fighting in recent months between Congolese troops and the M23 rebel group.
Uganda announced last month that it would deploy around 1,000 soldiers in the eastern DRC as part of a joint regional force to quell the violence.
